Legend of Spyro: Endless Cycle
by TMHB77
Summary: Spyro and Cynder have just beaten Malefor, and are adjusting to peace but when the new chronicler Ignitus discovers a disturbing trend regarding the fates of the purple dragons, will it all come undone?
1. Chapter 1 The Aftermath

**Well its finally happened. I played DOTD! Horray me! anyway, as I expected, playing it gor the old juices flowing again and I'm back with a fic inspired by a single line in the game. For the sake of the plot I wont tell you what it is, but fell free to guess via PM if you want. This will be a short story with short chapters(like 700-1500 words), but that should mean more updates right? As long as I dont get busy with work anyway. so without further adeu, I present to yous guys:**

**THE LEGEND OF SPYRO: ENDLESS CYCLE  
**

CHAPTER 1

"Well now young dragon, where might you be?" Ignitus wondered as he adjusted to his new role as the chronicler. He choose a new book as he closed the book of the dead. The one containing the prophecy of Spyro's destiny opened before him, as he read it nostalgically. He soon began to read all of the information on his race, and uncovered a trend in the lineage of the purple dragons.

"It would appear that they are born and die in some sort of cycle..." He said to himself researching as far back as his records would allow.

"Hm...Tiris the great died defeating Dionius when he...tried to summon the destroyer. Keros died saving the world when Herot...used the destroyer as well." He said aloud as he looked at all the books now in front of him. Indeed, for every purple dragon born, there was another born later that defeated him, although he died in the process. This pattern played out in every instance except one. The case of Spyro and Malefor. Malefor was gone, that much was certain as his name was entered in the book of the dead, but what perplexed Ignitus was what this meant for Spyro. He had survived when he shouldn't have, though through some miracle, or sheer will power, he did. Could Spyro be the one to break the cycle of good and evil? Would the universe even allow such balance to be upset?

"Only time will tell what this means for you, my young friend."

* * *

"You know Cynder, I never thought I would live to witness this. I thought we'd won..." He said standing inches from the pool of lava above Malefors former lair.

"See what Spyro? What are you talking about?"

He turned his head behind him to face her, his eyes white and his scales now as black as the night sky.

"Hmhmhm...why, then end of the world of course."

Her head snapped up from the bed on which she lay. Gasping for breath, she slowly cast a glance at the dragon beside her. He was not in his dark form as she feared he would be, he was sleeping soundly as if nothing had happened.

"Typical..." She said as she put her head back down. She knew well that Spyro could sleep through the loudest of thunderstorms, let alone the shifting of leaves beneath a frightened dragoness.

'Still, that dream was weird...' She thought to herself as she tried to get some sleep, though the elements of her nightmare deprived her of it.

'Whatever...its not like I haven't had weird dreams before.' She reasoned rolling over with her back to Spyro.

There was something unsettling about that particular dream however. Like the hermit they had meet in the valley of Avalar, his eyes where what made this dream noteworthy. The eyes, after all, give away everything. They weren't just white like she had seen when he lost control of his emotions. No, these were the soulless white pits of a heart void of good, filled with evil.

"It'll all be better in the morning." She yawned as her eyelids grew heavy.

* * *

Spyro awoke to find Cynder looking out of the cave they commandeered after saving the world, onto the colors of the sunrise.

"Its beautiful isnt it? And to think, it almost never came." She said turning to him.

"Yeah, it is." He said walking beside her.

"What are you doing up so early? We did it you know, Malefor's been defeated. We won!" She said happily.

"Yeah...but at what cost?" He said, herself knowing exactly what he was talking about. He hadn't had time to allow Ignitus' death to sink in during the fight with Malefor. Only now did it weigh on the young dragons heart.

"I know you miss Ignitus, but remember what he said. He's not truly gone, now he's everywhere! The grass, the trees, the clouds, the stars, even the breeze. No matter who dies, you'll never be alone. You weren't before, and you aren't now." She said nuzzling him.

Spyro gave a weak smile but it would still take some time to get over the death of his fatherly figure.

"I don't know about you, but I'm getting hungry." She said stretching her wings.

"Me too, I guess beating Malefor in one day takes more out of you than I thought." He said stretching his as well.

**So I wont be a jerk and leave a cliffy ending, just a regular one! most chaps should be longer than this, but this is all just off the top of my head as I beat the game about 30 min ago. updates may be sparratic at best now that I think about it...anyway, more to come, and I promise it will get finished!**


	2. Chapter 2 Confronting The Sacrifice

**CHAPTER 2**

Spyro and Cynder rested after a filling meal of boar and mushrooms in the meadow similar to the one outside of Hunters village near a large waterfall. The soft grass felt amazing beneath her as she still contemplated the dream of the night before. It felt so real, like she could feel the heat of the volcano, smell the sulfur and hear the rushing rivers of lava.

"Cynder? Is something wrong?" Spyro asked looking over at her.

"Huh? Oh...n-no, I'm fine." she said hesitantly.

"Are you sure? You seem distracted."

"No, its fine Spyro...I just had a weird dream is all." She admitted, not wanting to bring up more darkness when they had literally just beaten the king of darkness.

"Want to talk about it?" He asked in a caring tone. They were all each other had anymore. Though they hoped the other guardians were safe, they couldn't be certain. On top of that, they had no idea where they were. Warfang could be over the next ridge or on the opposite end of the planet for all they knew. But for now, they were happy together.

"There is one thing I want to talk about though..." She said nervously.

"Ok, shoot." He said rolling onto his side to face her.

"Do...do you remember what I said right before you put the world back together?" She asked hastily, wanting to get the words out of her mouth as if they were poisonous.

Spyro thought back, cocking his head to one side as he searched his memory. It was all a blur after he realized he was meant to bring the world back together...then it hit him. The three most powerful words in the dragon language.

"Oh...that. Listen Cynder, I understand if it was a heat of the moment kind of thing-"

"No Spyro, it wasnt. It was the truth. At first, I thought I never would be able to forgive myself for the things I did to you, and our race, and the world-"

"Shhh, Cynder that's all in this past."

She looked away from him, finding it hard to keep eye contact while discussing the current subject.

"...That may be, but my answer is still the same. I meant what I said Spyro. Besides, its not like there are any other dragons our age around." She said, not knowing the impact her last sentence would have on her purple companion.

"Wait, is that why you said you loved me? Because I was your only option?" He said, his voice showing how upset he was by this revelation.

"No Spyro! I said it because I really do love you! Yeah, you were the only dragon my age, but what does that have to do with-"

"Just stop Cynder. I'll be back later." He said immediately taking flight from their spot in the meadow.

"Spyro wait! Where are you going!?"

But her words fell on deaf ears as he coasted over the treetops.

She just lay there, deciding it better to let him have some time alone. He was still dealing with Ignitus' death, and the fact that the fate of the other guardians, and indeed everyone else he had ever met was still a mystery.

"I guess its just me tonight. Way to say the worst thing possible Cynder..." she said sadly as she laid her head down on her forepaws, her expression displaying her disappointment.

'I thought everything was supposed to get better after we beat Malefor.' She thought.

* * *

"Is there any word of Spyro?" Terrador asked Cyril as Hunter's falcon departed the balcony early that morning.

"No, I'm afraid. It appears as though he and Cynder, and Ignitus have paid the ultimate price for a world free from evil."

The earth dragon bowed his head in reverence and sadness. It was not the first time he had lost someone close to him.

"It seems that Malefor's treachery extended beyond the grave to drag them down with him." The ice guardian said sadly.

"Indeed, but let our hearts not be saddened by their sacrifice. They've insured a bright future for the rest of our race." Volteer said joining them.

"Yes, we must begin the search for the dragons in hiding. Perhaps there are still pairs of youthful dragons out there to increase our numbers once again." Terrador said, realizing the three of them, with possibly the exception of Volteer, were well past mating age.

"We can only hope." Cyril said looking onto the sunrise of the day that almost wasn't.

* * *

Spyro flew over the trees for a few minutes before settling in a clearing before letting the tears he'd been holding back burst forth.

"I cant believe you're gone..." He said aloud as he closed his eyes tight, in an effort to block out the reality of his situation.

He fell to his knees as he finally was able to do something he couldn't do since he left the swamp. Cry. Sure, he seemed much too old to cry, but having it all inside him for eighteen years could only last for so long. He controlled his sobs, but one or two escaped his clenched jaws as he tried to stifle them.

"I miss you...Ignitus...why didn't you just let Cynder and I go it alone?!" He shouted to the heavens, his sadness now mixed with anger. He glared at the clouds above as if he expected and answer, but knew none would come. He fell back down in his sorrow and looked at the grass now caressing his face and stomach as tears rolled off of his snout.

'When a dragon dies, he does not truly leave this world...he becomes part of nature, and offers hope for the future...' The fire guardians words ringing fresh in his head.

He clawed at the grass, holding a few blades in his paw, reviving his emotions again. He remembered the first time he saved him from the monsters in the swamp when he was just a hatchling. The times in the temple when he thought his training was too tough, and he felt he didnt have the strength to continue on, Ignitus was always there with gentle encouragement. More so than the other guardians, all though they tried to help when they could. He was always the one to patch up his wounds, and assure him of his destiny as the savior of the race. But he never even considered what life would be like without him. He loved him the way a son loves a father, just as he did Flash, but a closer bond was between the two dragons, he was sure.

"How could he just leave me...us...like that?" He asked as his eyes grew heavy from the food he had eaten earlier.

His moist eyes closed out the light of the noontime sun as his grief lulled him to sleep.

It was his second night sleeping in a world rid of evil. Why didn't he feel any better than before?

"If I had been stronger, I could have stopped Malefor in the well of souls! Then none of this would have happened!" He said as he pounded his paw into the dirt in anger, tears still present on his young face.

**Spyro finally lets his feelings out! sad, i know, but I would feel the same way if my father or father figure died. anyway, hope you guys like it. leave me some review love if ya dont mind!**


	3. Chapter 3 Revelation

**CHAPTER 3**

**Had to fix a few errors. I cant believe I missed them when I proof read it!  
**

Spyro eventually gave in to his fatigue after hours of thought and venting his pent up feelings. Once he had fallen asleep, he had one of the visions that were all too familiar to him by this point in his young life.

It was dark. Everything was dark. Spyro felt ground beneath his feet but he had no idea where he was.

"Oh no...not this again." He groaned as his voice echoed what could only be a large room.

A blue light shone from behind him. He shielded his face with his wings, then lowered them as his eyes adjusted to the intensity of the light.

"Spyro..."

He recognized that voice, but it was different from the Chronicler he knew. He looked the same, and was the same color but...something wasnt right.

"You arent the Chronicler..." He said squinting to try and see who exactly was talking to him.

"No, I am the Chronicler. Look closer Spyro." He said as the young dragon stepped closer.

He couldn't believe his eyes. Though the colors were different, he could clearly see that this was the fire guardian he missed so much.

"Ignitus? Ignitus!" He said running toward him, but he only seemed to remain the same distance away.

"Spyro there is no time for this! There is something you must know. I discovered a trend in the fates of all purple dragons. When one was born, it began a life of evil, so another was born to fight it!"

"Ok. I've already beaten Malefor. You aren't going to tell me about another villain are you?"

"No, the trend is that all of them-"

"Spyro. Spyro wake up! Please wake up!" A strange voice said which echoed throughout his dream.

"Oh no, not now Cynder!" Ignitus said as Spyro came to just before Ignitus could finish his sentence.

His eyes fluttered open as he saw a worried ebony dragoness standing over him.

As he got up, she jumped back in fear, not knowing if he was still mad at her.

"W-where did you go?" Cynder asked

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, you've been gone for three days..."

He had been asleep for three days? Why? He didn't feel _that_ tired. Spyro then remembered what Cynder had said to him that made him run off in the first place. But still, she did seem worried about him... and a silver lining to his cloud was that Ignitus wasn't dead!

"Listen Cynder, I'm sorry for snapping at you back there like I did." He admitted.

"I didn't mean to upset you Spyro..."

The purple dragon just lay in field, thinking about the words she had said. Truth be told, Spyro did feel something for Cynder deep inside him, and wanted nothing more than to make her his own for the rest of eternity. But something wouldn't let him.

"Cynder...we're all each other has right now, and I don't want to take a chance of messing it up if we...you know...get involved with each other. Just...not right now, ok?"

The words he spoke tore out more of her heart with every syllable. By the time he was done speaking, she felt as though she had been utterly destroyed. She fought back her tears with every ounce of her strength. Spyro was the only dragon to ever get close to her, the only creature to ever look at her without a suspicious glare or a mutter of mistrust. And now he wouldn't return her feelings? This was worse than being alone, this was being alone, with the object that can cure the loneliness, just out of reach. To put it simply, this was hell.

"Y-yeah...its p-probably for the best..." She said tunring her back to him to hide the pain on her face.

Though she hid it well Spyro knew what he said had hurt her deep down. He hung his head slightly in shame.

'What have I done?' He thought to himself as he walked closer to her. He rubbed his face against hers as their eyes closed.

"I'm sorry Cynder." He whispered. She pulled away sharply as she regained her composure.

"You have no reason to be sorry." She said bluntly as she spread her wings and looked back at him to see if he was ready, her cold gaze driving how hurt she was home to the purple dragon.

He took off and followed her back to the cave they shared. The coming night would be very very tense indeed.

* * *

Terrador was sleeping soundly in his tower loft in Warfang as it was recovering from Malefor's attack. The Manweresmalls worked around the clock to rebuild the massive city. Something stirred the Earth guardian from his slumber. A cold breeze from his open window was the culprit. He groggily rolled out of his bed, his massive mace tailtip dragging on the floor as he was too tired to lift it properly. If there was one thing the earth guardian hated, it was being awakened from his sleep prematurely. He slammed the window shut in aggravation and turned back to bed when he saw the new Chronicler standing beside his bed.

"Chronicler! Wait...Ignitus? What are you doing here? Are you the new chronicler?" He said startled.

"Yes my brother, but we have bigger problems. Spyro may be in trouble." He said flatly.

This news brought a smile to the weathered features of the battle hardened warrior.

"So Spyro survived..." He said smiling.

"Yes, but therein lies the problem. According to the records of our race, each time a purple dragon is corrupted by darkness, another is born to defeat it."

"That seems sensible. What is the trouble?"

"Every time the uncorrupted purple dragon fights the corrupt one, they both end up dying. But Spyro survived somehow, which could throw the universe out of balance." He said gravely.

"What do you mean Ignitus? That the universe will not tolerate more good than evil?"

"Unfortunately, that is my theory. The universe craves balance, weather the balance is shifted toward good or evil is not a factor."

"So...another evil will rise in place of Malefor?"

"It is unclear at this point. If Spyro died, this would also restore order...There are simply too many routes this could take at this moment." He said sadly

"What can we do about this?"

"You must find Spyro, and bring him here until you know how the universe will act. It could happen tomorrow, or fifty years from now. Just keep him safe until we know what is going to happen."

"Right, We'll begin searching tomorrow at dawn."

"Good luck Terrador."

"Thank you...and Ignitus...I'm glad you're alive."

"As am I, you my brother."


	4. Chapter 4 Enter The Darkness

**CHAPTER 4**

**sorry its kinda short but I didnt want to keep you guys waiting!  
**

That night Spyro entered the cave to find Cynder already asleep, with her back to him. Her posture reminded him of what he'd done.

He settled down at the opposite end of the cave and rested his head on his forepaws.

"Well, at least Ignitus is ok..." He said quietly.

Cynder stirred in her sleep, her hind legs pawing at the air as she rolled onto her back. Spyro couldn't help but chuckle as she quieted back down.

His laughter was soon replaced by a sigh as he thought of the future. She was the only female dragon left, and he was the only male near her age. The future of the dragon race depended on them, Spyro knew. Then why couldn't he love her back? He knew at this point that he had flown off the handle earlier, but something else stopped him from getting close both emotionally and physically to Cynder.

He closed his eyes with the hope that his slumber might bring another interaction with Ignitus.

But that would not be.

* * *

_'So, they young dragon walks out of the frying pan and into the fire.'_ Terrador thought as he had abandoned any thought of sleep after Ignitus had revealed that Spyro was alive. Though it was very out of character for the old warrior to be overly happy about something, he couldn't help but smile as he walked down the darkened hallway towards the grounds outside his and the other guardians towers. Through the windows he could see the early lights of dawn begin to shine over the hills.

'Soon the search will begin...'

This thought reminded him of why they were looking for him in the first place. It was possible that the whole universe was out to get him, or worse, he could become the next Malefor. His unusually happy attitude was soon put in its place at this thought as he la on the top of the rampart where the remaining elders were to meet that morning. He would have quite a story to tell them.

* * *

Spyro was in the same dark place as before, so he assumed Ignitus would soon show up. As he waited, a bright purple light shown at the end of the mysterious place. It started as just a tiny point but soon began expanding until it engulfed Spyro and everything around him. Unlike any other dream he had ever had, in this one, the purple light brought burning pain. He cringed and tried to bear it in silence, but found the agony to be overwhelming. He cried out, and as if on que, the pain stopped. The ground beneath him soon began to shake as a six foot high brick wall rose from the ground. A black claw began to inscribe ancient and alien letters upon it. In the darkness, the owner of the claw was just out of sight as it finished writing. The letters glowing in the same dark purple light that burned him so, began to shift and rearrange themselves into a recognizable format, forming a sentence that chilled Spyro to his core.

"The universe demands that you give in to the darkness."

He knew this wasn't Ignitus.

"No! I'll never give in! There is no more darkness! I defeated it!" He shouted into the void. He saw the black claw again as it began to come out of the darkness, a familiar voice emanating from where the head should be.

"Oh Spyro, you're so naive." She laughed.

"You can never defeat darkness." The being finally came into his field of vision.

"Cynder? Listen to what you're saying! You aren't like that anymore!"

"The capacity for darkness resides in all of us. The young and the old, the strong and the weak, the male...and the female." She with an evil smile Spyro hadn't seen since the days when she had been under Malefor's spell.

"And soon you will be just like Malefor."

"No! I'll never be like him!"

"Then I suppose there's only one other option huh?" She said as she moved her tailtip across her neck and stuck out her tongue making a gagging sound.

Spyro jumped up on all fours straight from his position on his belly, his wings flared, ready to attack anything that moved. He cought his breath as he looked around the cave to see Cynder looking at him with an unamused expression on her face.

"Spyro what are you doing?" She asked through a yawn.

"I...uh...nothing." He said settling back down, casting a scrutinous gaze at Cynder as she went back to sleep.

"What was that all about?" He asked himself as he thought back to his dream, still fresh in his mind.

'There's no way Cynder is still evil...but then why was she in my dream?' He thought as he tried to get some sleep.


	5. Chapter 5 A Newcomer

**CHAPTER 5 **

The guardians scoured the surrounding hills all morning, but there was no trace of Spyro or Cynder. The aged dragons took a short reprieve during the heat of the day to report their findings.

"I fear I'm getting too old for this type of unrelenting quest..." Volteer panted as he joined the others on a high rampart overlooking the still smoldering battlefield that was just beyond Warfangs walls.

"You aren't alone my brother." Terrador said taking a drink from the fountain they rested beside.

"Has Cyril returned?"

"No, but I believe that's him to the west." He said turning his head away from the sun as the ice guardian landed.

"I was not built for this kind of heat..." He complained as he too drank heartily from the fountain next to Terrador.

"Well? Did you find any leads?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. Though I don't believe it was Spyro or Cynder, I discovered dragon tracks to the west. They were too large to be Cynders, but not quite big enough to be Spyros."

"You have found a new dragon? Zat is excellent news!" Moleyair said bringing the guardians their lunch of goats and other various wildlife from the surrounding hills.

"Thank you for the food Moleyair. Yes, it seems we have a young one out on their own. He or she has survived Malefor's war against our kind for this long. They're either unreasonably powerful or unreasonably lucky. I would be willing to believe either." Terrador said as the other guardians began to eat.

"No, I dont believe this dragon is overly powerful, he seems much too young to be very strong without the proper training, but we must try to find him as soon as we are done here."

* * *

"Cynder..."

"What." She answered in a way that shot straight to Spyro's heart the way only a female scorned could.

"I...I'm...its just...that..."

"Spit it out Spyro!" She said angrily as she rolled over to glare at him in the early dawn light.

This did nothing to help his situation as he totally froze up and squeezed out the only word he knew could defuse the situation.

"Nothing..."

Cynder rolled over with a growl and tried to go back to sleep. _'That was pretty mean Cynder... No! He brought that on himself. If he wants to be alone, then thats what he'll get!' _She argued with herself as she stared at the wall of the cave.

_'Still...he's done so much for me...No. I cant back down now! If I don't stick to my guns now, he'll walk all over me later.'_ She thought, her pride winning the fight against her other feelings.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the cave, Spyro stared at the back of the angry dragoness, wondering why he couldn't get her to accept his apology, or worse, utter those three words that would make all of this go away.

'_Whats wrong with me...?'_ He thought as his stomach grumbled loudly.

_'Well that's one thing...'_ He said standing up and stretching his stiff legs and wings. With an easy push, he was airborne, gliding off into the rising sun.

* * *

The guardians departed Warfang in the direction Cyril had come from as the ice guardian scanned the ground below for the clearing where he had found the tracks in the first place.

"Down there! Looks like he's a fire dragon!" He said as they dove down towards the young red-orange male.

They landed softly as he looked up slowly from the small rabbit he was eating as he took in the three massive dragons.

"AHHHHH!" He screamed in terror as he scrambled to back away from the guardians.

"We mean you no harm young one!" Volteer reasoned, noting the color was all but drained from the dragons face.

"Y-you...look like me..." He stuttered as Cyril slowly approached him.

"Yes. We are dragons. And so are you. A fire dragon by the looks of it. Do you have a name?"

"F-F-Flame." He stammered.

"A fitting name. Where do you live Flame?"

"In a cave..." He said, not wanting to reveal its location, as he was still suspicious of these strangers.

"Ok. Where is this cave?" Cyril said giving in to his dry witted, sarcastic nature.

"Wait a second Cyril. Flame, you look a little thin. Are you hungry?" Terrador asked.

He looked at the battle scared green dragon, debating the right answer, but his stomach decided to answer for him with a loud rumble.

"Yes..."

"What if I told you we know of a place where there is an unlimited supply of food, of all kinds."

The very idea made Flames mouth water, finally forcing him to relent.

"That sounds...good." He lied. It sounded amazing, but he kept himself in check.

"Well young Flame, should you decide to eat something besides rabbits and field mice, just fly west of here. We live in the large stone fortress. You cant miss it." Terrador said spreading his massive wings and beckoning the other guardians to do the same.

Flame watched them leave as his stomach continued to protest his decision to stay instead of go to the magical land of food.

"I thought we were going there to bring him back _with _us?" Cyril said sharply to Terrador. The ice guardian still aggravated about his plan being changed by Terrador.

"He didn't trust us Cyril, there was no way we could force him to come to Warfang, he has to come on his own. Besides, there is no threat to him now that Malefor is gone. He'll come to us soon enough, all we have to do is wait."

**ok now Flame is in the picture! Where am I going with all this? no one knows but me! R&R kind readers!**


	6. Chapter 6 The First Of Many

**CHAPTER 6**

Flames stomach rumbled loudly as he lay in his cave trying to sleep, but not even fooling himself. His hunger was ravenous, but he still stayed in his cave. What reason did he have to trust those 'dragons' as they called themselves. He had never seen another creature like him, and to finally see ones that were much bigger than he was quite a shock.

'_If they wanted to hurt me, they could have...but they didn't. I guess they're ok...plus I'm really hungry...' _He thought as his stomach roared loudly in protest at the unfilling meal he had earlier.

"Ok ok I get it..." He said to his belly as he got up on his tired limbs and looked out onto the moonlit forest.

"They said to just fly west from the clearing..." He said stretching his unsteady wings and taking to the air. He hadn't had much experience at flying, but soon figured out which direction was west by the faint glow of what looked like a large castle of some kind in the far distance.

"Here goes nothing..." He said as he began his trek to Warfang.

* * *

_Earlier in the day..._

Spyro returned to the cave to find Cynder laying down by the entrance. As soon as he entered, she averted her gaze from his, a slight expression of anger still etched in her features.

He was tired of the tension. He had to man up and tell her something.

"Cynder...There's something you need to know...about what happened back there in the woods."

She perked up and looked him in the eyes, though her expression didn't give any emotions away.

"Ok. And that would be?"

'_Took you long enough'_ She thought.

"Listen, I do really like you, and I know there's something between you and I...but...I just...cant get as close to you as I know you want me to get."

Cynder stood up, her hard expression now fading, being replaced with concern.

"But why? Its...its my past isn't it?" She said sadly.

"No Cynder, its not about that...I don't know what it is...but I just don't want you to be mad at me anymore. Because...you're all I have Cynder. I'd hate to lose you..."

Cynders anger and pride subsided as she sensed he was speaking from his heart.

"I guess...I can wait for you Spyro...I'm sorry for being such a bitch recently." She said looking away from him.

"We both made mistakes Cynder. Even though I cant say what I know you want to hear, I promise that no matter what you face in your life, you'll never have to face it alone."

"Thank you Spyro. That means alot to me." She said softly.

* * *

"Cyril! Anozer dragon has been spotted heading zis way!" Moleyair said bursting into the ice guardians frigid chambers.

He smiled as he walked toward his window, seeing the outline of the young dragon against the bright glow of the two moons.

"You've made the right choice Flame." He said to himself as he walked with Moleyair to the high ramparts.

Soon, Flame had spotted the familiar dragon atop the wall as he began to land.

"Welcome young Flame, I'm glad to see you decided to travel here."

"That's all well and good, now wheres the food?" He said urgently, almost doubling over on the spot from hunger.

"Ahh yes. Moleyair, take care of Flame will you? Give him whatever he wants, and provide him with living quarters."

"Of course Cyril. This way, please." He said as Flame followed the mole into the eating hall.

Cyril alerted the other guardians and all three met Flame in the mess hall after he was done eating.

"Now Flame, I'm sure you have some questions for us?" Terrador asked

"Well, yeah. How come you guys are being so nice to me?"

"Because Flame, you are one of the last of our kind. It is very important that we preserve our race, and culture." Volteer answered.

"Now, may we ask you a question?" Cyril asked.

"Shoot."

"Where are your parents? You seem too young to be out on your own like this in the wilderness."

"Parents? What are parents?" He asked.

"Your mother and father, those who gave birth to you."

"Oh, I never knew them. I've been on my own for as long as I can remember." He said nonchalantly.

"So what is this place?"

"What do you mean?"

"This whole stone city. Did dragons build all this?"

"Oh no my young friend, we Manweresmalls built zis city to honor our friendship with zee mighty dragons, though it is still in a bit of disrepair after Malefors attack." Moleyair said from the opposite end of the room.

"You see Flame, there used to be many more of us, enough of us to fill this city ten times over. But, a very powerful dragon, which we had high hopes for being the protector of our race, turned to evil. He waged a merciless war on his own race, which nearly wiped all of us out. What you see before you, is all that's left. With the exception of Spyro and Cynder."

"Who?"

"Spyro and Cynder are the two responsible for beating the evil dragon, known as Malefor. However, after the battle, they disappeared. To where, we do not know."

"Ok. If you don't mind my asking, how exactly are we going to continue our race if only males are still alive?"

"Cynder is a female, so there is at least some chance, and we found you. That gives us hope that maybe there are more dragons unaware of Malefors defeat, or still in hiding."

"I see."

"Now, its getting quite late. I'm sure you are tired Flame. Moleyair will show you to your room." Terrador said as the other guardians went back to their towers.

As they walked, Cyril made an observation that the others noticed as well.

"He looks a tad familiar doesn't he?"

"Yes, he does remind me of an old friend." Terrador said smiling.

"We will have to research that further, but the similarities are remarkable." Volteer added.


	7. Chapter 7 Lighthouse Of Horrors

**CHAPTER 7**

Cyril spent his morning looking over Ignitus' old texts, trying to find some clue as to weather or not the former fire guardians genes were passed down in their new charge.

Most of his books were all concerning theories of combat, basic, advanced, expert and master tactics of fire, and some philosophical scrolls passed down through all of the fire guardians.

"Come now Ignitus, you didn't keep a journal or anything?" He said aloud briefly abandoning his exhaustive search for anything that might reference Ignitus as a father. It was known that he had a mate, but she was killed by Cynder during one of her multiple attacks on the old temple.

He turned away from the table where all the books lay, knocking into it carelessly with his tail. This sent a few books to the floor, they're absence on the desk revealed a red leather bound book, with a flame on it.

"Hm..." He said opening the book and skimming through the first few pages, noting that they were written in journal format.

His wandering ice blue eyes stopped on an entry dated seventeen years ago.

"Ahhh...It appears that we have much to discuss, young Flame."

* * *

"Well Cynder, I guess we should start looking to the west." The purple dragon said as he stood and stretched his wings in the afternoon sun.

"Yeah, I really hope we find someone." she said doing the same.

"I have a good feeling about this time." He said after his quick stretch.

They had searched a few times previously in the east and south, but hadn't searched the other cardinal directions. So far, they were the only civilized life for miles.

The duo set off to the west, Cynder still deep in thought.

"Oh Spyro...why wont you let me in...?" She thought. Thoughts like this dominated her mind throughout the search as she glanced to her right at her flying companion. Spyros earlier words had comforted her greatly, but they weren't enough to silence the voice in the back of her head that demanded she make Spyro hers, and hers alone.

They had searched farther than they had ever been from their commandeered cave. The sun began to set as the two moons rose over the mountains. Spyro stopped over the forest and Cynder followed suit.

"Its getting late. I guess we should head back." He said in a defeated tone, turning back to the direction from which they came.

As Cynder was about to turn back, a quick flash caught her eye.

"Spyro! Did you see that?" She called back to him.

A few seconds later he joined her as she pointed a claw in the direction of the mysterious beacon.

"I don't see anything...You feeling ok?"

"I'm fine! Just keep looking, I know I saw it!" She said as Spyro stared intently where she pointed.

Another flash illuminated the night sky, like a rotating searchlight or lighthouse.

"Wow, that was bright! How far away do you think it is?" Spyro asked, happy that they had finally found a sign of civilization.

"We'll know when we get there!" Cynder said streaking off toward the lights origin, her thoughts distracted from Spyro for the time being at the thought of a place to sleep that wasn't a cold stone floor.

* * *

The next morning in Warfang, Cyril walked down to the eating hall where he saw Flame eating as fast as he had ever seen anyone before.

"Flame, you said you had no knowledge of your parents, correct?" He said sitting beside him.

The young fire dragon stopped his inhalation of his breakfast and faced the Ice guardian.

"That's right." He said in a curious tone.

"Well I have some good news, and bad news for you." He said calmly

"Ok...lets hear it."

"The good news is that I know who your father is. He was the fire guardian, Ignitus."

Flame sat with a mildly happy look on his face.

"Ignitus?"

"Thats correct, and your mothers name was Mira. She was an ice dragon like myself." He explained.

"That's...that's great! Did you find them? Are they here?" He asked excitedly.

"Well, that's the bad news...Your mother was killed before you were born, and your father...gave his life to assure that Spyro and Cynder would get the chance to defeat Malefor."

The happy and excited expression quickly faded as what was just revealed to him sunk in.

"So...my parents...are dead?"

"I'm afraid so Flame. They gave their lives, to ensure you would have a chance to live yours." Cyril said softly.

Though Flame hadn't known them, he still felt tears building in his eyes. He looked away from the ice guardian, not comfortable enough to cry in front of him.

"I know it hurts Flame, but your parents were heroes. Come, I have something of your fathers I want you to have." He said getting up from the table.

Flame dried his tears and went with him into his chamber. It had icicles and banks of snow throughout the room, and an unearthly chill, just the way Cyril liked it.

He grabbed a book off of the shelf and handed it to the young dragon.

"This is Ignitus...your fathers journal. It stretches pretty far back, so if you ever get curious or, have questions about your father the answers may lie within its pages." He said.

"Wow...Thank you Cyril..."

"Think nothing of it my boy. Starting next week, we'll begin your training, so rest up!"

"Wait, what training? Training for what?"

"To be a proper dragon of course! Your claws are filthy, your scales are dull, and I doubt if you could beat a wounded frogweed in combat. But we'll fix all that in time."

Flame nodded a little confused and slightly hurt as he looked over himself. Cyril sometimes forgot how condescending he sounded if he got carried away.

"Ok..."

"Just relax for now Flame, I will let you know when you should start worrying." He joked, which was rare for the normally pretentious dragon.

He left without another word, taking the red leather bound book with him.

**Darkness creeps in on our heroes next chapter! R's pleez!**

* * *


	8. Chapter 8 Brother From Another Mother

**CHAPTER 8  
**

Spyro and Cynder came ever closer to the searchlight as it rotated throughout the night.

"We must be really far away from Warfang, because I don't ever remember seeing anything like this before." Cynder said to her traveling companion.

"Yeah, it looks like a lighthouse, but I havent seen any water for miles. I wonder what its for?"

"I don't know...I guess we can ask when we get there." She said as they landed at the foot of the massively tall lighthouse.

"Hello? Is anybody home?" Spyro asked into the surrounding woods, an echo being his only reply.

"Huh...you'd think there'd be someone here to turn this thing on and off..." Cynder said looking around the darkened forest.

A pair of eyes stared out from the shadows of the woods, watching the two young dragons.

Spyro walked a few feet to the right of Cynder when poison tipped darts flew out of the shrubs, puncturing the purple dragons tough hide with ease.

"Spyro!" Cynder shouted as his vision blurred and began to loose color.

"Cyn...I cant...stay...up..." He said falling to the ground in an unconscious heap.

Cynder ran to his side and tried to rouse him, but to no avail.

She looked to where the darts had come from and shouted into the darkness.

"Show yourself! You coward! Come fight me!" she growled waiting for a response, but none came.

She began to look in other places around the woods, never getting more than a few feet from Spyro.

Cynder tried to feel out any dark energy signatures, but felt none as she continued to sweep the woods. She looked left, then right, but as soon as she looked left again, she was met with a hard forearm to the face, knocking her out cold.

* * *

From the day Flame had received his fathers journal, he read every page, every entry in an attempt to piece together his heritage.

One day however, he learned something that even the quite thorough Cyril had missed. Something that would alter the course of his life forever.

The young dragon went to Cyril's chamber with his discovery, nearly trampling the manweresmalls working to rebuild Warfang.

"Cyril! Cyril! What can you tell me about that 'Spyro' guy you mentioned when I first got here?" He said, Ignitus' journal wrapped in his tail.

"He was...I mean is, the dragon of prophecy. He was the one who was destined to defeat the previous purple dragon. After beating him however, he and his enemy turned ally Cynder disappeared."

"Huh...well I think I've got something here that may interest you. Take a look at this." He said opening the book to the page he had marked.

"Hmm..." He said as his ice blue eyes went from side to side as he scanned through its worn pages.

"My word...I would have never believed it if I hadn't seen it in writing." He gasped.

* * *

Cynder went in and out of consciousness, her vision was of only a blurry figure dragging her across a dirt floor by her hind leg. She could feel her wing blades cutting ruts in the dry dust, but she soon faded back into darkness.

She was jarred awake as she felt herself being thrown against the side of a small metal cage, the loud clang of the door slamming shut rousing her fully. She saw the creature that had captured them throw Spyro's unconscious form onto a bloody table, with bones of varying sizes strewn about on the floor around it. Their captor appeared to be a crocodile type creature, the raised ridges on its back giving way to its flat, broad head.

The croc looked around for something, though Cynder couldnt tell what. Apparently it couldnt find whatever it was, as it left the room, leaving Spyro sprawled on the bloody table.

"Spyro! Spyro wake up!" She said as loud as she could in a hushed tone. It didnt take her long to figure out why the table and floor was covered in blood.

The purple dragon didn't respond to her pleas as he heard the footsteps of the creature coming back into the room, with whatever horrible device it had been looking for.

"Spyro for the love of the ancestors wake up!" She cried urgently as the croc lifted her cage up with one massive arm and hurled it into the corner, as punishment for her incessant noise.

As Cynder looked on in horror, she noticed his tail twitch at the loud clang made by her cage crashing into the wall.

The croc raised a jagged, home made knife high above Spyro. Its jagged edges and caked on stains barely reflected the dim candle light.

Spyro opened his eyes just in time to see the creature intending to thrust the rusted blade deep into his heart. On reflex alone he flipped his tailtip up and deflected the blade into the table inches beside his head.

"Whoa!" He exclaimed as he scrambled clumsily off of the table as his limbs were still numb from the poison coursing through his veins.

He looked around in panic and saw Cynder in a cage in the corner.

"Spyro! get me out of here!"

He looked back only to narrowly dodge another slice from the crocs blade.

His numbness had now retreated to his ankles and feet as the adrenaline pushed the toxins out of his system. He launched a shockwave of earth shot in the crocs direction, knocking him unconscious, his knife flipping wildly into the air, and coming down into his unconscious adversary's leg. Spyro cringed as he slowly turned to Cynder.

"I think we need to get out of here before our friend wakes up."

"You think?!"

After a few seconds of staring, Spyro spoke up again.

"Well? Get out of the cage!"

"I cant!"

"Use your shadow powers! Go underground or something!"

"This is metal, I cant! Find the key!" Spyro looked around for a key, but saw the unconscious croc beginning to wake.

"No time, I'll just take you with the cage!" He said

"What!? This thing is filthy, and way too small!"

He grabbed the cage with all four paws and shot a fireball through the roof, bursting into the night sky, rising past the rotating light. As he was about to fly away, he turned back toward the lighthouse.

"Spyro what are you doing? Get us out of here!"

"Hang on, I want to make sure what almost happened to us doesn't happen to anyone else!" He said charging an electric bolt in his muzzle, and blasting the light, darkening it for eternity.


	9. Chapter 9 Training Day

**CHAPTER 9**

**a few minor corrections. leave some reviews plzkthnx  
**

Spyro flew a safe distance away from the now darkened lighthouse and put Cynder's cage down in a moonlit clearing as he rested his tired wings and legs.

Spyro panted as he looked down at his paws, then casually glanced to Cynder, who was looking at him expectantly.

"What?"

"Can you please get me out of here?" She said as if he was stupid for not knowing what she wanted him to do.

"Well...how should I do that? I don't have the key, and there's no way I'm going back there to find it." he said examining the rather large steel padlock on her small cage.

"I dont know, cant you melt it?"

"Not without burning you."

"C'mon, I'm fire resistant!"

"Not at those temperatures. I think I'll just have to take you to Warfang and have one of the Manweresmalls pick the lock."

"But we dont know where Warfang is! Who knows how long that could take!"

"I know it sucks Cynder, but for right now, this is all I can do. I promise that we'll find someone tomorrow who can get you out of there." He said sincerely to her. The cage was so small the she couldn't even straighten out her legs, or stand up fully. She spent most of her time in a forced crouch position.

"Look, let me just rest for an hour or two. That poison is starting to...come...ba..." He said as he fell over onto his side, dead asleep.

Cynder just sighed and tried to reach the tip of her tail to the lock, but try as she might, it was too short.

She let out a whimper as she admitted defeat and tried to get as comfortable as possible until Spyro awoke from his coma.

* * *

"Flame, are you ready to begin?" Terrador asked as the young dragon stared at him from across the dirt arena outside the walls of Warfang.

"Yeah..." He said unsure of his actual feelings.

"Then give me your strongest elemental attack!" The earth guardian demanded as Flame glanced at the gathering crowd of onlooking Manweresmalls that were standing on the ramparts.

He swallowed nervously as he inhaled, then blew as much fire at the old guardian as he could muster. The flames were moderately sized for a dragon his age, but not strong enough to keep Terrador from chuckling.

"Ah, it is clear to me that you never been taught your elemental arts." He said as the smoke cleared from around him, to the embarrassment of Flame.

"Observe what true elemental mastery can give to you!" He said as he charged his earth powers and slammed his mace tailtip into the ground. From it, chunks of jagged rock began to rise up from the ground, rushing right towards Flame. Before he knew it, the trail of rock was right beneath him. The young dragon was thrust upward on a pillar of jagged stone, only to come tumbling down to the ground with a dull thud. Flame coughed the dust out of his lungs as he forced himself to his feet, his entire body aching from Terrador's assault.

"W...what was that for?!" He snapped angrily.

"Control your anger Flame. Letting it get the best of you will only bring you more." Terrador said wisely.

Flame glared at the guardian, bottling his anger.

"Now attack me Flame. I must asses your current skills so I know where to begin your training."

He used the pain from his injuries and channeled them into a tail strike which caught the sturdy earth dragon in honest surprise.

Though not enough to hurt him, Terrador realized that the young dragon before him had the raw strength that was not too far off from Spyro himself.

The other guardians gathered on the ramparts and observed the sparring taking place below.

Flame followed up with multiple slashes, all being blocked by Terrodors rock hard paws or iron scales. They weren't in any particular pattern, nor did Flames strikes have any purpose other than to injure his enemy. The young dragon had no knowledge of strategy, strengths and weaknesses, or close combat tactics to employ.

After a few more minutes of Terradors endless blocking, he ended the session.

"That's enough Flame. You are dismissed for today." He said with obvious concern in his voice.

"Well...? How'd I do...?" He asked out of breath, bleeding from the small cuts in random places on his body.

"You did fine Flame. Remember to control your emotions." He said as he was thrust skyward with one mighty beat of his wings.

Flame was left in the arena to ponder what the earth guardian had told him.

"I can control my emotions...I wonder what he meant?" He said to himself as he decided to take in the scenery outside of the massive fortified city.

* * *

Spyro woke up more drowsy than he had ever been. It was as if someone had kept him up for days, only to let him fall asleep for a few minutes before forcing him awake again. Though the morning sun told a different story.

He looked to Cynder who hadn't caught even a wink of sleep, due to her living quarters.

"Its about time!" She said in the exasperated voice of a very agitated female.

"Sorry Cynder. Are you hungry?" He asked.

"Yeah..." She answered.

"I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere." He said smirking childishly.

"Very funny Spyro!"

* * *

"The boy is physically very strong Terrador." Cyril said

"You don't have to tell me, I felt it. He has the natural gift of strength. From his father no doubt. But there is something there he most certainly didn't get from Ignitus. He feels his emotions very strongly, like his mother. I'm afraid this may cloud his judgement in times of stress. A competent warrior must have a level head at all times." The earth guardian said as he took his rest on the large cushion in his cave like chamber.

"Indeed, I sensed the adolescents anger in the aftermath of your elemental display." Volteer added, standing beside the resting eldest guardian.

"We must continue his training as soon as possible." Cyril stated rather bluntly.

"I'm not comfortable training him to become more powerful if he cant control his feelings. That kind of recklessness will only lead to trouble." Terrador answered back.

"We need a young dragon able to fight the next threat to our race that appears! We cant keep fighting, we aren't exactly getting any younger."

"Not until he gets his anger under control. I felt nothing but hate after I hit him with that earth attack. Hate leads to darkness, and I'll be damned if let another Malefor escape into the world under my watch."

"We can only defend Warfang for so long, and besides that, we never halted Spyro's training when he got a little upset did we?"

"We didn't have a choice back then, and Spyro's destiny was predicted by the prophets! This dragons was not." He said sternly.

"Then I will work with Flame to get his emotions under control. Once he does, I expect for you to endow him with all of your knowlege."

"Don't worry my brother, I'll train him when I deem him fit for the task. Though it wont be easy training a fire dragon...I will try and find Ignitus' old training manuals in the ruins of the old temple tomorrow."

* * *

After Spyro had gotten himself and Cynder food, he picked up her cage and went to the sky once more, in search of any sign of sentient life.

Soon, a small smoke plume broke the blue horizon, catching the purple hero's eye.

"Cynder look! Maybe its a village or something!" He said over the rushing wind.

"I hope they have a locksmith!"

"Me too, I'm tired of hearing you complain!" He said jokingly, earning a smack on his hind leg from Cynders tail.

"Ow! Don't make me drop you!"

They swooped down when they saw the thatch roofed huts surrounding the large bonfire as wild Fauns danced around it in ceremonial tribal masks.

Spyro gently set Cynders cage down as the celebration immediately stopped and all eyes were on the two interlopers.

"The bringers of death! What does your kind want with our peaceful village!? Speak now or be destroyed!" The largest faun wearing a scary tribal mask barked as he threatened Spyro with the end of his razor sharp spear.

**ok i lied, darkness encroaches next chap! sorry fans of evil!**


	10. Chapter 10 Caged and Confused

**CHAPTER 10**

Spyro took a deep breath, and thought out his explanation. Xenophobic tribes were the last thing he needed trying to kill him after his last encounter.

"We aren't here to hurt you, we just need your help."

"Our help, you say? After what your kind has done to the land with your wars and mindless grabs for power? If anything, we should punish you while we have the chance!"

"I know the dragon who caused you so much harm. His name was Malefor." The crowd gasped at the mention of the dark lords name.

"You will not speak that foul word within the confines of this village outsider." The leader growled, getting inches from Spyro's muzzle, his spear still dangerously close to the arteries in his neck.

"Fine, we wont speak his name. But we are the ones responsable for defeating him!" He pleaded as the Faun leader pulled back, kepping his spear on his neck.

"Hm...and how do we know you aren't agents of his, sent to seek out dissent in his realm?"

"I suppose you'll be wanting proof then?" He said in a tired voice, just wanting to get Cynder out of the cage and get a good nights sleep.

"Indeed. If you truly are free dragons, then you wouldn't mind lifting your front paws?" Spyro had learned in his many lessons with his mentor Ignitus, how to spot the dark masters spies or agents. Malefor burned his servants with his mark on their front paw or hand, depending on what they had. The mark was a pentagram with an 'M' inside it. Spyro raised up on his hind legs and showed them the bottom of his front paws, then almost in slow motion he realized his mistake. Cynder had the mark from her time under his spell!

As soon as he turned to her, two Fauns had spears pointed at her cage.

"This one has the mark!" one gasped in absolute terror.

The chief glared at Spyro as if he had just spat in his face.

"You dare bring the cursed into our village!?"

"No, she isn't under Malefors control anymore!" He said, forgetting their ban on saying the dark lords name. This only perturbed them further as the guards surrounded them.

Spyro turned and swiped at the spears, severing the stone tips as he caught one in his mouth. He grabbed Cynders cage, but not before he felt the sharp pain of a forceful stone spear tip ripping into his back thigh. He yelped, almost dropping the spearhead, but clenching it tighter in his jaws to fight the pain. He went skyward with a thrust of his wings, Cynders cage weighing him down as the desperate spears landed well short of their high altitude target.

"Why is everyone so hostile _after_ we defeat the king of darkness?" Spyro asked himself aloud as he sped away from the angry villagers. After flying a few miles, he set Cynders cage down and looked at his leg. It was almost covered in blood. Cynder was facing the other direction, but was quickly notified by the small amounts of blood dripping down the bars of her cage.

"Spyro! Are you okay? Where did this blood come from?" She asked with a hint of panic in her voice.

"Its mine. But don't worry about that...I think I know how to get you out of there." He said limping over to a rather solid looking boulder sticking out of the ground. He began to chip away at the stone blade in an attempt to narrow it enough to fit in the lock's keyhole.

"How is grinding one rock against another going to get me out of here?" She asked skeptically.

"I remember the shape of the key that the crocodile had when I was fighting him. If I can carve this to look something like his key, maybe I can get you out of there." He said as he continued to diligently carve the spearhead into a narrow key like object. After an hour or so, Spyro had crafted a crude skeleton key which resembled the one that unlocked his companions cage. He held it up to her cage in his tail.

"What do ya think?" He asked as she examined it.

"Better than I could do. I hope this works."

"Me too..." He said easily working it into the lock, inch by inch so as not to break it inside the padlock.

Slowly, he began to turn the lock, sweat beginning to form on his brow as he worked with the dexterity of a brain surgeon. Time slowed to a standstill as both Spyro and Cynder held their breath, waiting for the glorious sound of the lock releasing its prisoner.

_Clink!  
_

The lock unlatched from itself and Spyro flicked it off of the latch. The cramped prison that had been Cynders home for the past two days swung open and she nearly knocked him over darting out. She stretched her cramped legs and wings for a good five minutes before turning to her liberator.

"Thank you Spyro." She said nuzzling his chest, minding her sharp horns.

He smiled as he returned her affection.

"No problem Cynder."

He slowly laid himself down on the grass as blood slowly stained the grass as it pulsed out of his gash.

"Oh my ancestors! That looks awful Spyro." She said looking closer as he rested in the shade.

She began to lick the dirt and blood away as his leg twitched in protest.

"Ahh! That stings!" He complained.

"If I don't do this it will get infected. Just be glad my poison glands are retractable." She said as she laid down behind him and continued. After his wound was clean, the blood began to scab over.

"There, just try to take it easy for a while and you should be good as new." She said laying down beside him instead of behind him.

"Thanks Cynder."

"It was the least I could do after you got me out of that cage." She laying her head down on her forepaws, looking at the mark on the bottom of her right paw. It was her constant reminder of why she was mistrusted, ridiculed and looked at with suspicion. All this just made her miss the acceptance and understanding of the guardians who took her in after she had tried to kill them all.

"Do you think we'll ever get to Warfang?" She asked with a tired sigh.

He thought about all of the things that had happened to them since they left the cave in which they woke after defeating Malefor. First they were almost eaten, then nearly sliced into some kind of pagan sacrifice. How could such bad things exist? The guardians had always told him that after Malefor was gone, all pain, fear and hostility would cease everywhere. They said he was behind all of the worlds deceit...could they have been wrong?

"To be honest with you Cynder, I'm not even sure if we're on the same planet as Warfang."

* * *

Two months had passed since Cyrils confrontation with Terrador about Flames lessons. The ice dragon had been watching Flame as he trained with the other guardians. He had an anti-authority streak, but it was kept in check by a strong sense of duty to protect his kind. Flame's elemental powers had increased five fold in just that short amount of time he had spent with Terrador. This was partly thanks to Cyril's recovery of Ignitus' training manuals from the old temple. But protecting the Manweresmalls and the other dragons that could be in hiding was not the only reason they were imparting Flame with their knowledge and power. There was a gap within their ranks. The absence of a fire Guardian meant that they (the other guardians) would have to appoint the next one. According to the ancient document of draconic law, there were a number of specifications that had to be met in order to be a candidate for the position. It must be a male, it must have mastery of the element of fire, must be the eldest son in his family, his conception must be sanctioned by the ancestors, he must have ample combat experience, and must have a heart free from tendencies toward hatred, anger, jealousy and any other negative emotions. Flame met all but two of these specifications, a fact that Cyril was willing to overlook.

Cyril landed next to a large Oak tree as Flame practiced his close quarters combat in the sunshine outside the gates of Warfang.

"You've come a long way my boy. Your father would be proud." He said as the young dragon stopped his attacks on the air in front of him and turned to his strategic combat instructor.

"Thanks Master Cyril." He said smiling at his praise.

"You are almost the spitting image of him, you know." He said as they began to walk back toward the still damaged gates of Warfang.

"Your hard work will payoff Flame. The other guardians dont know this yet, but soon I feel you will be ready to take your fathers place as Fire Guardian."

Flames eyes lit up with a boyish excitement that had been suppressed since his training began.

"A-are you serious?" He stuttered.

"All in due time my boy. You aren't there yet. But soon you will be." He said as he left Flame at the eating hall and retreated to his tower. He laid on his cushion and thought deeply of how the other guardians would react to his proposal of their young ward. He did see a lot of Ignitus in Flame, but his interest in his success was also partly due to how much the fire dragon reminded him of his own son, whose fate was one of the ice Guardians most painful memories.

**Ok I know nothing really exciting happened in this chap, but think of this story as rollercoaster. You have to trudge slowly up the hill before you can speed down it!**


	11. Chapter 11 We Are Eternal

**CHAPTER 11**

Spyro and Cynder fell asleep in the clearing they had stopped in as the crescent moons rose high over them. The purple hero was once again cast into the darkness of his dreams, a swirling purple smoke drifted lazily around his feet as he looked around for the reason he was here.

"I'm really getting tired of these kinds of dreams..." He sighed as the smoke was suddenly swept away by an unseen wind. His attention now focused, he squinted into the darkness as the same point of purple light began to expand into purple flames and rush towards him.

"Not this again!" He said gritting his teeth and shielding his face with his wings.

The burn of the purple flames was twice as strong as he remembered. He couldn't hold back his pain as he cried out almost immediately. Just as quickly as the last time, the pain stopped.

"Why does this keep happening to me!?" He shouted into the void.

"Your attempts to resist the darkness have angered us..."

"Who are you?! Who is 'us'?!"

"We are eternal." The voice answered, sending a chill down Spyro's spine as he remembered the last dragon to utter those words.

"Malefor! I should have known!" He growled, but the voice merely laughed, much to his surprise.

"Malefor was weak. We are not he, we are the evil which dwelled inside his heart. The laws of the universe demand balance."

"I will never submit to evil! I'm not weak like Malefor was!" He shouted defiantly into the darkness.

"You will join us, or die." The echoing voice demanded of him.

Spyro awoke with a start, slashing out into the darkness in front of him. A feminine yelp echoed through the night air as he felt his razor sharp claws become wet with the warmth of blood. Her pain quickly snapped him out of his groggy haze as Cynder withdrew herself, putting her forepaw to her cheek to feel the warm blood slowly running down her once pristine ebony scales.

"Oh...Cynder I'm so sorry! You...just startled me..." He said as he limped toward her, only to have her move back away from him.

She looked up at him with something he thought he would never see in her eyes again. Fear.

"I-Its ok Spyro..." She said in absolute shock. Not only because Spyro had hit her, but because she felt a spike in dark energy radiate from the purple dragons body from the moment he struck her.

"Spyro...what was your dream about?" She asked, ignoring her wound for the time being.

"It...it was nothing, you just startled me is all-"

"You were radiating dark energy since you went to sleep. Can you please tell me what your dream was about?" She pleaded. Spyro looked at the bleeding cut he had left on her face, and couldn't hide them any longer, not after hurting someone he promised to protect.

"Ok...I'm in a dark place...there's normally purple smoke on the ground around me. Then the voice comes... it tells me that the universe demands balance. Like water and land, fire and ice, good-"

"And evil?" Cynder completed.

Spyro nodded and continued.

"It told me that the darkness has chosen me to replace Malefor. It said I could either accept the evil, or die. And one time, it wasn't just a voice telling me this...it was you." He said somberly.

Cynder was shaken to her very core. How could this be? Was there no escape from evil, no matter how many times they defeated it?

Spyro moved closer to her as he cleaned the blood from her face, herself still feelings traces of dark energy coming from the dragon who cut her in the first place.

"It was probably just leftover energy from Malefor effecting your sleep." She reasoned.

She glanced at him every now and then, being careful not to let him catch her. What was happening to him? First he rejects her love, and now this? Maybe there was more truth to Spyro's dream than she gave credit.

* * *

Cyril was transported to that most hated of places, the city of Warfang. It was there, many years ago that his son Isis had finally finished his training, and a young Malefor had attacked the city with his newly formed army of apes. Cyril had endowed him with all his knowledge, save his most powerful fury attack. In fact, all of the elders but Cyril taught those most hellish attacks to their pupils and soldiers. He felt that Isis was not yet ready for the Fury of the Blizzard, but was sure that his son had the power to hold his own in a fight.

_"Are you ready, my boy?" He asked as Isis, who was about the same age as Flame at the time.  
_

_"Yes father. We will make Malefor pay for betraying the secret of our magic to the apes!" He said excitedly as they ran along the ramparts of the city which had been thrown into chaos._

_"Good, you clear the apes out of the courtyard, and I will fight them on the ramparts. Make haste Isis!" _

_He watched as his son flapped his light blue wings and swept down upon the apes, an arctic breeze, freezing a number of them in place._

_"Too easy!" He laughed, landing beside them and using his tail strike to smash the frozen ones to pieces. More apes poured from the buildings surrounding the courtyard as Isis shot icicles left and right, impaling many of the soldiers foolish enough to get within range. Soon there, was quite a sizable troop of apes surrounding him, all brandishing clubs, axes, warhammers, and other medieval weaponry. Cyril looked back to the courtyard and saw his son in over his head. He hurriedly started towards him, just as a catapult shot collapsed the tower above him, sending a heavy stone slab crashing on his back. He was pinned under the rock as he watched in horror, the apes slowly tightening the circle as Isis tried to freeze them, but they were just too many of them. Soon, Isis was out of elemental energy, and the apes charged. He could only observe from a distance, the hands of the apes as they rose and fell with a corresponding cry of pain. An icy tear escaped the normally pompous guardian as he roared out his sons name, as the cries of pain had all but stopped. It was Ignitus who spotted his fellow guardian trapped beneath the rubble as he roared, rain beginning to fall. He killed the remaining apes around Cyril, and lifted the slab off of him._

_"Cyril are you injured?" He asked urgently, to which the tearful dragon shook his head, but had no time for any other questions as he streaked into the crowd of apes in the courtyard, literally tearing them apart. There were so many that it took Ignitus to help him get to the middle of the fray, where Cyril found his only son._

_Ignitus looked upon who Cyril held in his arms and asked._

_"Who is this dragon?" _

_Unrecognizable, even to those who knew him..._

_"It is...my son." He said as Ignitus was absolutely shocked by the revelation._

_It would be years before Cyril would accept the loss of his only heir. He blamed himself for Isis' death. He came to the conclusion that if he had only taught him his fury attack, he would still be here today._

Thoughts like this echoed through his mind upon waking up from this dream, which he did with a sharp pain in his heart. He vowed after the death of Isis, that every other one of his charges would know everything he did.

Later that morning, he gathered the other guardians in the meeting hall and told them of his plans to make Flame the fire guardian, and with it, teach him Ignitus' Hellfire fury attack.

"He has no combat experience, and is still quick to anger." Terrador stated.

"That may be, but he meets all the other requirements. At the moment, what choice do we have?"

"Spyro." Volteer added.

"You know I wish for his safe return as we all do, but we don't know where he is, and we cant just leave the position of Fire Guardian unfulfilled."

"It is pointless to discuss Spyro at the moment. We must focus on the matter at hand. Tell me, how has young Flame been handling his emotions?"

"Better. Much better than we we first began." Cyril said confidently. Truth was that Flame had gained ground in controlling himself, but he still had his moments.

"While there is little we can do in way of actual combat experience, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to set a date for the ceremony."

"It would certainly boost his spirits." Cyril added. "When will you instruct him in the ways of the fury attacks?" He asked further.

"I will wait until the day before the ceremony. There's no need for him to have to carry that knowledge before he absolutely must."

"But what if we are attacked? We will need him at full power to combat any-"

"Cyril, the evil that once plagued this land has been vanquished. We need not fear another dark insurrection."

The ice dragon sighed, as he came forth with his real reason for equipping Flame so early in his training.

"I...I just don't want to happen to Flame, what happened to Isis..."

"Isis died a glorious death on the field of battle, fighting for the lives of the future generations! It would be an honor for Flame to die in such a manner." Terrador said in a comforting yet stern tone.

"But a death on the battlefield is not something we need to worry about anymore." Volteer said.

Cyril knew Malefor had been defeated, but he was still troubled by Ignitus' words.

"Very well...We will wait until the day before he is made a guardian."

* * *

Three weeks passed since Spyro had cut Cynder. Every night, the dreams got worse, and Cynder sensed more and more dark energy coming from her traveling companion. Their search for warfang had ground to a halt as Spyro's normally brilliant purple scales now took on a black discoloration, and his strength was being sapped by some unknown force.

"Spyro...we've been here for two days...I wont know how to help you if you don't tell me whats happening to you ." She said as the purple dragon shivered by her feet.

"C-cynder...It wont stop." He studdered through his cold sweat.

"What wont stop?" She asked cautiously. It tore her heart out to see someone she cared so deeply about to be in so much pain.

"The darkness...I cant even close my eyes anymore without seeing them..."

"S-spyro...you're scaring me... what are you talking about?" She said as his eyes darted around randomly, as if he was surrounded by something only he could see.

"The visions! They're awful...I see myself...covered in blood, but I don't know whose. They call me a murderer, a monster, they said I killed you Cynder!" He ranted, stepping inches from Cynders frightened face.

"Spyro...I think you're just sick, you need to lie down-"

"No Cynder! Its the darkness...it wont leave me alone!" He cried in agony, burying his face in his wings. Then a thought occurred to his cluttered and frazzled mind. In one of his earlier dreams, they told him the only other option to accepting the evil, was to kill himself! Why hadn't he thought of that before?

Cynder knew he wasn't sick. His dark energy levels had grown since she had first noticed them, the night he slashed her face, which was almost healed by this point.

Then Spyro felt something grab his attention to the north. He looked and saw a purple beam of light falling from the heavens and landing somewhere beyond the horizon.

"The light! I've got to follow it!" He gasped as he took flight without so much as a warning to Cynder.

"What light? Where are you going?" She called after him, taking to the air in hot pursuit.

Cynder kept pace with Spyro, but wasn't able to close the distance between them. She was still well outside of shouting range when an ugly landmark rose out of the distance.

'Mount Malefor? Why on earth is he going there?' she thought as he landed at the edge of the rim, peering down into the pool of lava. Then she remembered the dream she had, it was all too familiar to her now.

Dark crystals jutted out from random spots on the mountain side as the clouds of ash blocked out the sun, lightning occasionally making its presence known as well.

Cynder landed on the rim next to Spyro to try and talk some sense into him.

"Spyro what the hell are we doing here?! Warfang is right over there!" She said urgently as her purple friend stepped closer and closer to the edge.

"Cynder...I cant hold off the darkness for much longer...I know it brought me here to absorb the remaining dark crystals..." He said with an expression that appeared to signal a pounding headache.

"No! Spyro you cant become the next Malefor! You would never let that happen!"

"I know Cynder!" He shouted angrily.

"I have to do this...while I still have...control!"

"Do...what?" She said, but immediately figured out what he meant.

"Spyro don't jump!"

"Its the only way! Otherwise, I'll end up just like him! This is my only option now Cynder, don't make it any harder than it already is!" he yelled over the howling winds of the high peak.

"I know you can fight this Spyro! I wont let you take the cowards way out!"

"I'm doing this for you! So you don't have to kill me later! So you can have the chance to live a peaceful life!"

"I'm not living it without you! If you jump, I jump!"

Spyro looked into the black dragoness' eyes, her serious expression was almost an angry one at the thought of what Spyro was planning on doing.

"Why? You have your whole life ahead of you."

"Because life without you...isn't worth living! Let the darkness try and take you! It will have to go through me first, and as long as there is a breath in my body I WILL NOT let you become what I was!" She snapped, with tears now falling from her emerald eyes.

"What else am I supposed to do? I cant just go on fighting the darkness every day of my life!"

"Thats why you have to expel it now, use everything you have! Fight it dammit!"

Spyro's pain intensified as he began to clear the evil influences from his mind. A bright purple aura surrounded him as he fought an internal battle for his very soul.

"Come on Spyro! I know you can beat it!" She encouraged as he writhed in pain on the ground.

The purple dragon got to his feet, and reared up on his hind legs, his forepaws and wings covering his head.

_"You cannot resist us! We are the universe! We are all that ever was, and ever will be!" _

_"I don't care! I'm not giving in to you! Leave my body now!"_

_"Very well. If you shall not accept us, then you shall die!"_

Spyro stumbled backward on his unsteady two legs and fell over the edge, toward the lake of fire.

"Spyro no!" She said as she darted after him, grabbing his forepaw with her own and flinging him up onto the rim once more.

She landed next to him, and Spyro released a guttural roar, as well as magnificent plumes of dark energy up miles into the sky, the force of which slammed Cynder against a boulder, rendering her unconscious along with her purple friend.

* * *

Terrador was stirred from his sleep by his senses. He felt a spike in an energy he had not felt in a very long time. He looked toward its origin and gasped as the mountain of Malefor was once again alight with dark energy.

"Spyro...no..."

**Heres a long chap to make up for my lack of updates. Reviews! Leave them!**


	12. Chapter 12 Thicker Than Water

**CHAPTER 12**

**sorry this took a thousand years but I didnt want to leave u guys hanging, so apologies if its short.  
**

Terrador burst out of his window and raced toward the evil mountain as fast as he could fly. Before long, he reached the peak of the mountain where he saw the two dragons he had hoped to find since the day they disappeared.

"I don't believe it!" He exclaimed as he grabbed the unconscious Spyro in his left paw and Cynder in his right. As he reached for Spyro, he felt the painful burn of traces of dark energy as it still lingered after having been expelled. Terrador gritted his fangs and grabbed the young dragon, fighting through the burning as he hugged the two of them to his massive chest. He took off towards Warfang with an almost grin on his battle hardened face, happy that the last piece of their previous fights puzzle had fallen into place.

At the breakfast table that morning, he sat with a glowing sense of happiness, which caught the other guardians by surprise.

"You seem to be in good spirits this morning." Cyril commented, taking a bite out of his lamb.

"You'll never guess what I found on Mount Malefor last night." He said, his grin still in place.

The other guardians expressions were of shock, as no one dared venture to that cursed location.

"What were you doing up there?" Volteer asked

"I felt a spike in dark energy, so I went to investigate-"

"Alone?! You could have been killed, or worse! Why didn't you wake us?" Cyril asked almost insulted that he went by himself.

"Relax Cyril, I also felt a certain energy I hadn't seen since the fall of Malefor."

"You mean..."

"Exactly. Follow me." He said getting up just as Flame was sitting down to eat, wondering where his mentors were headed off to in such a hurry.

The guardians followed Terrador to his chamber and gasped at who was asleep on his bed. None other than Spyro and Cynder.

"What in the ancestors name were they doing on Mount Malefor?" Volteer whispered as they walked closer to the unconscious dragons.

"You dont have to whisper, they are completely exhausted. I dont expect them to wake for a few days." The earth guardian said, very pleased with their safety.

Cyril soon realized what the return of Spyro meant, recalling the guardians earlier conversation about the position of fire guardian.

"So Spyro will be made fire guardian now that he has returned?" He asked, knowing the answer.

"Don't jump to conclusions Cyril, we must wait to evaluate him when he wakes up. He was the source of the dark energy that drew me to the mountain to begin with. I hope he expelled it, but only time will tell." He said pulling a blanket over the young dragons.

Cyril took his leave as he pondered how Flame would take the possibility of having the position he was promised taken away from him. Perhaps he should have informed him of their actions, should Spyro return. But alas, it was too late now.

"Flame, I have some good news for you." He said coming up behind him as he ate breakfast.

"What is it?"

"Its Spyro. We've found him." He said happily as Flames expression lit up as well.

"Really!? Is he here?" He asked shooting to his feet.

"Yes, he's in Terradors chamber resting at the moment. We dont think he will be awake for some time."

"So when will I get to meet him?"

"As soon as he wakes up."

Three days passed, and Spyro finally recovered the strength to open his eyes. He observed shelves upon shelves of scrolls and books, with various torches lit and a solitary window, with the orange sun casting its last rays of light as it set behind mount Malefor.

'That's...mount Malefor...then how did I get here?' He thought looking to Cynder by his side, herself still asleep, her scratches almost healed, as well as his leg wound.

'At least someone friendly found us for a change.' He thought, remembering the first two encounters since his battle with Malefor. He was soon back asleep as he was still drained from his internal battle with the dark elements of the universe.

Flame was walking with Cyril to Terradors chambers to check on Spyro and Cynder, all the while discussing what their return meant for the dragon race.

"I always pictured Spyro as...I don't know...bigger than he is. I thought he would at least be larger than I am." Flame said walking with his closest mentor.

"He is younger than you are Flame, and it was not Spyro's physical strength that gave him the power to beat Malefor. The purple dragons are the only ones who can harness all the elements. That, and he had Cynder to aid him in his fight." The Ice guardian contended.

"Cynder...You said she can use multiple elements too, but she isn't purple. Why is that?"

"A long time ago, she was tainted by darkness. Being that was for so long gave her affinity for it, and it soon became as much apart of her as the scales on our hides."

"So wait...Darkness can give normal dragons more than one element?"

"If exposed to enough of it, yes. But the damage done to the soul is not worth the power gained. Take Malefor as a prime example." He said, Flame nodding.

"Cynder being here means that, for a little while at least, the dragon race has a future. She is the only female of breeding age we've been able to find, and you and Spyro are the only males of appropriate age as well."

Flame paused. They were the only three left.

"What are you implying?" He asked.

"Well, should Cynder agree, we may need her to become gravid...twice. Once by Spyro, and-"

"Wait a second! She's nice and all, but I dont even know her!"

"Calm yourself Flame, that is only a last resort to limit inbreeding. Surely there are more dragons on this planet. Malefor's evil couldn't possibly be far reaching enough to have wiped us all out."

Flame felt bad for snapping, quickly making his guilt apparent in his voice.

"That's not to say she isn't pretty... Hopefully it wont come to that."

"I dont believe it will. After all, we have not yet begun to search for the dragons in hiding as you were."

'I wish I would have known about Malefor. He wouldn't have made it past a day with those apes of his...If only I had known about what was going on!'

"I wish I had known about our race's struggle against Malefor...I could have helped, and maybe dad would still be-"

"Now Flame, there will be no more of that. Your father did what had to be done. It was a noble choice he made to save us all." Cyril said sternly.

"Yes sir." He said, burying his brooding feelings as he always did in the presence of his mentors as they arrived at the chamber.

Spyro had just fluttered awake as he turned to his hard right to find a red dragon staring at him from the doorway, Cyril right behind him

"Cyril? Is this Warfang?" He asked wearily.

He smiled as Flame and himself went beside the bed bound purple dragon.

"Thats right Spyro. Terrador found you on the mountain a few days ago with Cynder." He said, happy to see him awake and of sound mind.

"Who is this?" Spyro asked as Flame merely smiled at him.

"My name is Flame. I'm your half brother."


	13. Chapter 13 The Skywatchers

**CHAPTER 13**

"...My what?" Spyro said groggily as he focused on the red dragon before him.

"Your half brother. Ignitus was my father, and yours too. Our mothers are different though." He explained.

"So, Ignitus was my father? Why didnt he tell me?" Spyro asked looking to Cyril.

"Only he knows for sure Spyro." The ice guardian answered.

"Then, who was my mother?"

"Your mothers name was Autumn. She was an earth dragon."

Spyro said that name over again in his head, it did sound rather familiar, like a word he remembered hearing before he could hear...

"Why is Ignitus both our fathers?" He asked.

"Long ago before any of you were even a twinkle in Ignitus' eye, he had a mate named Mira. He and Mira were bound in the sacred right of draconic law (their equivalent of marriage) for many years. Then one day, Mira laid an egg, -that was you, Flame- and they couldn't have been happier. But just as they were going to put it into the hatchery, The ape king Gaul attacked, smashing many future dragons, and stealing just one black egg. The day after Flame had hatched, a new dragon no one had ever encountered before ravaged Warfang, and killed Mira in the process. After that attack, Warfang was no longer considered safe, and most dragon occupants fled. Ignitus must have hidden you, Flame, and then went off into hiding."

Both young dragons hung on the ice dragons every word as he let them absorb what was just revealed.

"Well that explains me...but what about Spyro?"

Cyril got comfortable as he began part two.

"One year after the attack on Warfang, Ignitus apparently met another female dragon while in hiding. She was Autumn, your mother. She comforted Ignitus during his darkest hours in the wake of losing his beloved, and as a result, a relationship began to grow between the two of them. Eventually, she too laid an egg, and when she did, neither could believe its color." He said as Spyro nodded absent mindedly.

"Malefor and his minions were relentless, however, and eventually tracked down Ignitus. He fled with Autumn to the old Temple where Terrador, Volteer and myself were hiding. Unfortunately Autumn had contracted the Red Death somehow, and summarily she died a few weeks after laying you, Spyro. Had we not been there for Ignitus, I don't believe he would have had the will to live on." He said soberly, thinking of unfortunate events past.

"What about Cynders parents? Do you know who they are?" Spyro asked.

"Our records were destroyed the first time Gaul attacked, so we have no way of knowing." Cyril answered.

Spyro's visitors left so he could rest while he tossed all these revelations around in his mind. He actually had a family, besides Flash and Nina. A real dragon family, and moreover, at least one face to go with a name. Ignitus, the proud fire guardian was his father! And an earth dragoness named Autumn was his mother. Her name sounded beautiful in his head, and as he whispered it once aloud to himself. If her name was so nice, he bet that she must have been extremely pretty. But that wasn't even the best part. Now, he had an actual dragon brother! Sure, he still loved Sparxs, but he had no idea what had become of him after Malefor's defeat. He could only pray he was O.K.

Slowly, testing out each leg, he got out of Terrador's massive bed and walked quietly to the door. He opened it and peered out into the spiral stairwell that led to the rest of Warfang. He began a steady walk down the tall set of stairs as he stretched his wings every step of the way.

Once he reached the bottom and opened the door, he was greeted by a bustling construction site, with Manweresmalls going in every direction carrying wood, nails, hammers, stone, anything you could think of to rebuild a fortress to the place requesting it. All of which stopped immediately upon noticing the purple dragon standing in the doorway, shielding his face from the bright sunlight with his wings.

"Spyro?! You're alive! Zis is wonderful!" A french voice he recognized said coming forward with a construction hat on.

"Good to see you too Moleyair." He said happily.

"We must prepare a feast tonight in your honor! Where is mademoiselle Cynder?"

"Shes still asleep up there. Do you know where the guardians are?"

"They took young master Flame out on a search for more dragons in hiding."

"Oh..." He said sounding a little disheartened.

"Do you know when they'll be back?"

"In time for zee feast, I hope! Everyone! Drop what you're doing! Tonight, we celebrate!" Moleyair said amongst cheers.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The four dragons flew north against the angry wind to the high mountains, in search of any sigh of life, let alone any dragons.

"Now this is my kind climate!" Cyril said doing loops in the arctic wind that came at such high altitudes.

"G-G-Glad you're happy." Flame chattered as he blew small jets of fire ahead of him so he could fly through just a bit of warm air.

"Terrador, we've seen nothing for miles! I don't believe any good will come of us venturing further!" Volteer shouted to him.

The earth dragon nodded as he contemplated this, until he saw a small object, about the size of a large wolf trudging through the snow.

"I think I see something, I'm going down to have a look!" He shouted as he descended on the snow covered creature. He landed silently behind the creature, believing it to be an adolescent dragon. As soon as he took a step towards it, the creature whipped around, releasing a spear towards the earth guardian as fast as the young drake could throw it with his tail.

The thickness of Terradors battle scarred hide and the shoddy construction of the spear made it break harmlessly on impact, but it was still enough to make the seasoned warrior approach the young one with caution.

"Master Terrador!" Flame said seeing the attempt on his life from the sky. He zipped down by his side and assumed the battle stance he had been taught.

"I'll take this guy out!" He said, but Terrador placed a massive forepaw against his gold chest.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm Flame, but we arent here to fight."

"But he attacked you with a-"

"Stand down Flame. There's a time and place for combat, but now is neither." He said wisely as Flame relaxed his body, the other guardians landing behind him.

"We aren't here to hurt you young one, we are like you."

The Ice dragon had nothing but fear in his eyes after seeing his spear shatter against Terradors broad chest, but managed a response nonetheless.

"W-who are you? What are you doing on our land?" He asked trying and failing to keep his voice from showing fear.

"Your land? This is dragon turf buddy!" Flame snapped earning a shut-up nudge from Terrador.

"What is your name young dragon?"

"My name is Nightwind, chief of the Skywatcher tribe!" He shouted proudly, standing on his hind legs to reveal a muscle mass to even rival Flames for his age. He had what appeared to be paint on his face in a tiger stripe pattern, as well as two dragon paw prints on his chest in the same paint that was on his face.

The Guardians were kind of unsure how to respond to that, since no dragons had lived in tribes since the dark ages.

"Uh...Ok. Can you take us to your tribe?" Volteer asked.

"What business do you have with us?" He asked, now having regained his composure.

"Look its a really long story. We promise we wont hurt you, cant you just take us to your 'tribe' or whatever already?" While Terrador was ready to silence Flame, he was surprised as the white ice dragon nodded.

"I suppose you can. If you wanted to hurt me, you would have already." He said spreading his light blue wings. Every facet of this boy reminded Cyril of his son Isis.

"Follow me outlanders!" He said taking flight farther north toward a great jagged mountain.

Once on the opposite side of the mountain, there sat a small village, with what appeared to be huts and a central statue in the middle of all of them. Nightwind landed and was greeted by five other dragons about the same age, one male, and four females. They all bore similar markings and face paint, and bared similar spears.

"Who are they Nightwind?" The green male asked as the guardians and Flame landed behind him.

"These are...wanderers from a distant land. They wished to meet with us." He said turning their attention to them.

"Young dragons, my name is Terrador. I am the earth guardian. This is Cyril the Ice Guardian, Volteer the electricity guardian,and our young apprentice Flame. We live in a fortress south of these mountains you call home. We have come looking for dragons such as yourselves, and I am glad we were successful. It is our wish that you would return with us to our home, so that we may train you in the ways of your ancestors."

"You're assumption that we would so willingly give up our lives for something you speak of offends me outlander!" Nightwind snapped, which mad Flame step forward, but Terrador kept him in check.

"Then tell us of your tribe. We wish to learn of how you young ones survived in such a harsh climate, when not all of you are Ice dragons." He answered.

"Very well. Sit at the foot of the great Matu, and listen well!" He said motioning to the statue of a large dragon head which looked like it belonged in a temple of some kind.

'This is ridiculous.' Flame thought as he sat between Cyril and Volteer. Nightwind climbed atop the dragon head and began.

"Many moons ago, in the Before Times, we were created by the great Matu! We are his children, and have been a tribe since as far back as any can recall. However, we soon realized that the world around us was not as friendly as we had hoped. We have lived in caves much of our lives, hiding from the dark skies. We have lost many to the dark skies, and it was only recently that they had disappeared."

"Nightwind...when you say 'dark skies'... what do you mean exactly?" Terrador asked, genuinely intrigued.

"Demons from the sky, mounted on beasts of shrieking madness. They have claimed many, as we used to have greater numbers. For some reason however, the dark skies have not appeared for some time, which has allowed us to move out into the open like this."

'Malefors agents...they would be so heartless as to kill hatchlings!' Terrador fumed silently.

"I know what these 'dark skies' were, and I can assure you, that they will never hurt any of you again." He assured them.

"How is your tribe on food?" Cyril asked, banking on the same thing that had gotten Flame to join them.

"We have been experiencing a lack recently...there is not much game in these mountains."

"If you come with us, we will give you unlimited amounts of food." Terrador added, seeing where Cyril was going with this.

A yellow female put her forepaws against the statue so she could whisper to Nightwind.

"We will decide tonight. Come back by morning outlander, we will have made our decision then." He said.

"Very well Nightwind. Come brothers..." He said spreading his wings.

**Sorry bout the lack of updates, I've been busy with another story, and RL stuff. anyway leave some reviews!**


	14. Chapter 14 Rescue Operation

**CHAPTER 14**

That night everyone ate like kings as they celebrated Spyro's return. Even Cynder eventually came down after waking from her long sleep.

"Cynder, you're awake!" Spyro said leaving his seat to greet her.

"I wasn't sure how long you were going to be out." He said in a slightly worried tone.

"Just needed my beauty sleep I guess. Whats all this about?"

"Its a party for us!"

Cynders eyes lightened as she heard this. She had never even been to a party, let alone have one thrown in her honor.

"Really? What for?"

"Because we're alive, silly! We only just saved the planet from destruction!" He said happily.

Spyro nudged her in his direction and sat her in the seat next to him he had been saving. They sat and ate, exchanging tales and jokes about the long table well into the night. Soon after midnight, the guardians and Flame decided to turn in, leaving a few straggling Manweresmalls, along with Spyro and Cynder. Both were stuffed to the rafters with food, so much so that Spyro actually thought his belly had gotten bigger in the course of a few hours.

"Well, I guess we should get to bed before Terrador falls asleep." Spyro said to Cynder.

"Oh no master Spyro, we have prepared a room for you and madame Cynder!" Mole-yaire said coming around the corner of the large table which was as tall as he was.

"A room...? As in one...room?" Spyro said nervously.

"That's right big boy...one room. For me and you." She said seductively, Spyro praying she was just teasing him.

After a few seconds, Cynder burst out in laughter.

"The look...on your face...priceless!" She said recovering her breath.

Spyro was more relieved than annoyed at Cynders joke.

"Since when do you tell jokes?" Spyro asked as they followed Moleyair to their room.

"Since you're more afraid of me than you were of Malefor." She said smiling.

The room they were led to was about the size of the guardians chambers, however this one was lined with tall bookshelves and torches mounted on the walls for light, though they were all extinguished. A fireplace sat stately in the center of the room, wood already split and placed in the rack, only needing a little bit of a dragons fire to get it going. Spyro noticed there was only one bed, and it was nowhere near the size of Terradors.

"Looks like I'll sleep on the floor-"

"Nonsense! You aren't sleeping on the ground like an ape! Two friends cant sleep in the same bed together?" Cynder said walking toward the cushion and pawing it to get a sense of its softness.

"I guess so..."

Cynder rolled her eyes, she was really getting tired of Spyro treating her as if she was going to jump him the first time they were left alone.

"Spyro listen to me. You dont like me like that. I know you dont. So stop acting so weird and come to bed!" She said pulling a blanket over herself with her tail, her back facing him as she tucked in her wings.

Spyro realizing how foolish he had been acting sighed with relief as he climbed into bed with her.

"I'm really glad you understand Cynder." He said as he grabbed the other end of the blanket and pulled it over himself.

"Its no problem Spyro. It's not hurting me." She said as she rolled back over to face the open window as the moons shone brightly over the fortress city.

She clenched her eyes shut as a tear escaped.

"Its killing me..." She whispered.

The next morning, the guardians set out back to the mountains to hear the verdict of the Skywatchers.

Upon spotting the village, they found it destroyed, the smoldering ruins telling a very grim tale.

They landed immediately and examined the damage.

"What happened here?" Cyril asked looking for survivors.

Terrador sniffed the air carefully, he smelled much ape blood, but no dragons blood.

"The apes were here. I can smell their filthy blood." He said, his expression changing to a glare.

"Apes? But how? Malefor is gone, and the apes in his command were cursed!"

"Not all of them, it would seem. Come, their tracks lead in this direction, they cant have gone far!" He said flying low as to follow the tracks.

XXXX

"This is ridiculous! I've been in training for months to be the Fire Guardian, and they still pushed back the date of the ceremony!" Flame complained to Moleyair at breakfast.

"Surely zee guardians have a reazon, you must trust zeir judgement master Flame."

Flame sunk in his seat and crossed his arms as he considered Moleyairs words.

"Yeah...maybe..." He said getting up from the table and heading outside just as Spyro and Cynder came down to eat.

"Hey Spyro...oh, I don't think we've met. I'm Flame." He said stopping as he saw Cynder.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Cynder."

"Well Cynder, I hope you and Spyro can join me outside after breakfast for a little fun?" He asked in his most swauve voice.

"Sure, that sounds good." Spyro answered as he went on his way.

"Who's mr charming?" Cynder asked as they sat down.

"My half brother apparently." Spyro said not pausing as he took a bite of his game hen.

"Huh. Since when?"

"Three days ago, while you were asleep."

XXXX

The guardians followed the ape tracks far off the mountain and into the jungles where the apes still lived, though most were peaceful.

"Take heed brothers, the ape camp is ahead!" Volteer said moving some bushes out of the way and exposing a small camp with six beat up dragons inside separate cages.

"So you dragons think you can walk all over us now that the dark lord is gone? Theivery is punished by death in these parts! The fact that you are dragons will make this all the more enjoyable." The largest ape of the group said through gritted fangs. The elders sighed as they exchanged glances.

"Looks like our 'tribe' got caught stealing food from the apes." Terrador whispered.

"Well, we could try to appease the apes into freeing them." Volteer suggested.

"Yes, but they will probably want the stolen food back, and judging by the stomachs of our Skywatcher friends, I don't think it will be in the same condition as it was stolen. There must be another way..." Terrador said thinking to himself as Cyril marched through the bushes.

"Cyril! Where are you going!?" Terrador asked as every ape in the village drew their weapons and pointed them at him.

The ice dragon concentrated and a blue aura surrounded him. Within a few seconds, a column of ice radiated from the dragons body, freezing everything except for the other guardians hiding just out of range.

After the fury attack, the other two joined him in the now frozen village center.

"There. Sometimes rash action is the best course. Dont tell anyone I said that." He added breaking open the now brittle bars and grabbing the frozen solid young dragons.

"You could have killed them! Volteer said examining the crystallized huts and apes.

"Oh nonsense, everyone will be good as new soon enough, all they have to do is melt." Cyril said confidently

They grabbed two under each arm and took flight toward Warfang, and a place to let the young ones...thaw.

XXXX

Spyro, Flame and Cynder stayed outside all day. It was good to not have to be working toward a goal or trying to rescue someone for once. Now, all they had to do was waste day after day lazily soaring and recalling previous adventures to the young Manweresmalls in the city square while their parents rebuilt the city. As the day came to a close, they spotted the elders coming back toward Warfang carrying some peculiar items. The young dragons went up to meet them as they landed.

"Who're the popsicles?" Flame asked as the guardians set the still frozen dragons in various poses down in front of them in the dying sunlight.

"Its a long story. Once they melt, they'll be trained just as you were, Flame." Cyril said as a Manweresmall walked to them with a cart.

"Master Terrador, place them on the cart. I'm sure I can find a suitable place for you dragon-sickles to warm up." He said. Once his cargo was loaded, he was off to the furnaces.

"Rest up tonight young ones, we will need you tomorrow to go find more like them."

"Finding a frozen dragon shouldn't be too hard." Flame said as they walked away.

"I don't think that's what he meant." Cynder said.

"I know, that was the joke. The dark master took your sense of humor too huh?"

She glared daggers at him as he quickly apologized.

"Its ok Flame...I'm just still a little sensitive about that is all..." She admitted.

"No worries sis, I promise I wont rip on you for being an evil pawn of the scourge of the land."

"Uh...Thanks. Why'd you call me sis?"

"You might as well be! You're Spyro's girl, and he's my brother, so you might as well get used to it."

"Uh, we arent...together." Spyro was quick to answer, which earned a sigh from his ebony companion.

"Oh. Well either way, I wont make anymore jokes about...you know..."

"Thanks Flame, I really appreciate it." She honestly looking him in his bright orange eyes, himself enjoying the soft greens of her own.

"No problem. We're family now, and nothings gonna change that."

"Night guys." He said breaking the few second stare as he went back to his room.

"Night Flame." They said in unison.

**ohhhhhh foreshadowing! leave some revs!**


	15. Chapter 15 Orientation

**CHAPTER 15**

Over the next few weeks, the guardians found about one hundred fifty more dragons ranging in age from early adulthood to hatchling. It was also up to the guardians to train the new arrivals in the ways of being proper dragons. Unfortunately for the three of them, since there were now so many students, they considered making Flame and Spyro instruct a few classes. Luckily for them they found the workload bearable, which made their former pupils students instead of instructors.

"That's so unfair! We've already been trained! I've been here for months busting my ass! Why do I have to go to class?" Flame complained as he, Spyro and Cynder walked beside Cyril.

"Because no one here gets special treatment. Spyro is going, you dont hear him complaining do you?" He asked as Spyro just kept walking alongside Cynder. He had learned long ago that whatever the guardians wanted of you was going to happen, one way or another. It was best just to let it happen with as little friction as possible.

'Whatever. I cant wait till I'm Fire guardian, then I'll be the teacher, not the student!' Flame thought as he fell back to where Spyro and Cynder were.

"You don't hear me complaining because I learned not to a long time ago." Spyro whispered to Flame, eliciting a chuckle from his brother and Cynder.

Upon arriving at their first class, Cyril opened the door to find the room filled with dragons of about their age, and of every color and element. Silence dominated the room as Cyril stepped to the front of the room and the three young dragons behind him took their places in the last available seats in the back. Much to Spyro's relief, none of the other dragons knew who he was. To them, he was just another male with a rather interesting coloration. Cynder was also glad to not be recognized for who she once was, her smaller body and face made it almost impossible to connect her adult form with her current state. The only way they could tell for sure was the mark on her paw, which she kept on the ground at all times when she could.

"Welcome all of you, to your first day of proper dragon education. It is in my class that you will learn the common courtesies and manner all dragons should posses and know when and how to use."

Spyro and Cynder settled in, beginning to enjoy the anonymous life of just 'a black and purple dragon' instead of realmwide heroes with people either running in terror at the mention of Cynder or fawning all over Spyro for tales or autographs.

"Let me start by saying there are only two rules in this class. Do not be late, and do not speak unless spoken to. If you have any questions about those rules, address them to Spyro, Flame, or Cynder." He said pointing to them in the back, making them flush with embarrassment.

'Oh no...please dont do this Cyril...' Spyro thought as the ice dragon took a deep breath and continued.

"Spyro there is responsible for the defeat of the dark dragon Malefor, and the freedom of our realm! As was Cynder, she used to be a slave to the dark masters black powers, until Spyro freed her. They are true heroes of the dragon race, and both students of mine!" He said proudly as Spyro and Cynder both sunk low in their seats.

The rest of the day seemed to drag on until Cyril finally dismissed them.

"Remember, tomorrow you are to meet in the sparring chamber with Terrador!" He said.

Spyro thanked the ancestors he had walked with Cyril and sat at the back of the room as he, Cynder and Flame were the first out of the room, before they could be mobbed by the other students. Once they made it outside the walls of Warfang, the simply rested in a field under a shady oak tree as the sun began to set.

"Can you believe how long Cyril kept us in there?" Flame said observing the clouds as they drifted by lazily.

"Yeah, he's a bit long-winded sometimes." Spyro answered.

"Sometimes." Cynder said sarcastically.

"I thought the purple dragon would've been a little harder to track!" A male voice from above them said as they looked to the source in a startled manner.

Nightwind flipped out of the tree and landed at the base of the tree, his warpaint now gone from his face, but the two dragon prints were still on his chest.

"Hey, I remember you! You're one of the guys Cyril froze!" Flame said remembering his earlier encounter with the Skywatchers.

"Indeed, Master Cyril was responsable for freeing us from those filthy apes, but it was nothing we couldnt have done for ourselves." He said proudly.

Flame rolled his eyes as Nightwind turned to Spyro.

"According to Master Terrador, you and Cynder defeated a great evil. The same evil that had killed many of my tribe. Is this true?"

Spyro stood up, Nightwind was just a few inches taller than he was, and more muscular than he. (Though he was probably a few years older than Spyro. The Skywatchers had no way to keep track of age, so none of them new how old they were.)

"Yeah, its true." He said unsure of Nightwinds angle, or why he followed them out here, though he had to admit that none of them realized they were being followed until Nightwind wanted them to know.

The ice dragon bowed his head to Spyro and said.

"Then I owe you a debt of gratitude young savior." He said, much to Spyro's embarrassment.

"Please Nightwind, you dont have to bow or feel like you owe me anything." He said as he raised his head back to his level.

"No, as is our custom, you are entitled to any unwed female in our tribe." He said, eliciting an immediate growl from Cynder as she was now standing behind Spyro.

"I appreciate the offer Nightwind, but I dont think I need that right now." He said conscious of the very agitated female behind him.

Realizing his reward had angered Cynder, he immediately apologized.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend your mate, its just that I didn't see your bond mark-"

"Its not like that, their just friends." Flame explained.

"Oh, I see. Very well, the offer still stands, should you change your mind." He said spreading his wings about to head back to Warfang. The guardians allowed the Skywatchers to all live in a large hall, as they did when they were a tribe, but all other uncivilized activities were under heavy scrutiny from the guardians as they slowly replaced their tribal customs with legitimate dragon culture.

"Hey wait, what are those paw prints on your chest about?" Flame asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

He smiled.

"These are the paws of my mate, Vera. They have been permanently affixed to me, just as mine are affixed to her. They represent the eternal bond of our love, and is how we tell who is mated to whom."

He turned his back to them to which Flame noticed two Sig runes between his wings.

"Whoa whats on your back?"

He turned his head, his mood changed in an instant from respect to a cold glare on his face.

"That is something you need not concern yourself with." He said sternly as he took to the sky.

"Geez, angsty much?" Flame said as they watched him disappear into the sky.

After a brief silence, they went back to Warfang and found the guardians conversing on the top of a high rampart. The city itself looked many times better than it had when they had first arrived.

"Terrador, what are you guys doing out here?" Spyro asked landing near them.

The guardians exchanged nervous glances at each other before speaking.

"Hunters people have...unified, as it were. The new leader is a stringent nationalist who is highly critical of any creature who isnt of his own species. He harbors a special hatred for dragons. Though he claims he only hates those responsible for Malefors reign of terror, he sees pretty much all dragons in this negative light. We need to re-establish trade with the cheetah's, but doing this now will take heavy diplomacy, if it will work at all."

"So? If his village wont play ball, lets just find another one to trade with." Flame said.

"That's the problem. This new chieftain convinced all cheetah villages to give control to him."

"I see..." Spyro said.

"Are you doing this now?" He asked.

"Indeed. You and Flame are welcome to join us, but I'm afraid Cynder must stay here. If any of them recognize her, or see her mark, they'll try to kill her on the spot."

"No, the cheetah people aren't aggressive! Without them, I wouldn't have been able to kill Malefor!" Spyro contested.

"I'm afraid much has changed since you've been away Spyro. Come, we best be on our way." Terrador said taking flight as Flame followed them.

"Spyro you coming?" He called to his brother.

"Yeah one second!" He called back.

"It sounds important. If this new chieftain is going to listen to anyone, it'll be me."

"I understand...just hurry back ok?" She said kissing him on the cheek.

"Will do!" He said flapping his wings and chasing after his envoy.

After an hour or so flight, they landed outside the village Spyro remembered helping out during his previous quest. Only now, it was surrounded by high earth and stone walls, with red banners with a black cheetah paw print in the center. Two banners hung from the two guard towers which had two large rapid fire crossbows manned by cheetah watchmen in armor Spyro didn't recognize.

They stood at the massive stone door to the village and waited, the weapons in the guard tower trained on them as they stood.

On the door was a simple phrase:

"Strength through Unity."  
"Unity through Faith."

"That's new." Spyro said to himself as the large gate slowly opened to reveal a central thoroughfare in which the same banners were hung all the way down the street until it ended at a large building with the same symbol built into the very stone of the structure. Guards at the gate escorted them to the large building as the streets were deserted. Not a sound was heard save the footsteps of those in Spyro's group.

They finally made it to the imposing structure where they were led into a large central chamber, decorated with images of cheetahs conquering other species, as well as their advances in science and technology (as rudimentary as they were) and finally a large mural of something called the 'Glorious Revolution'. This seemed to be the centerpiece as it depicted many cheetahs waving the same banners that Spyro had seen all over the village, with a central figure standing on a balcony addressing them from this very building, as if it were some sort of rally.

"This way." A guard said as they took a left at the large mural before Spyro had a chance to look at it further. Soon, after many twisting hallways and corridors, they came to a room where a rather large cheetah sat behind a desk with the paw symbol on the front, and behind him hung a huge banner that matched the desk. The dim, torch lit room was full of guards as the dragons approached who they assumed was the patriarch of this new cheetah empire.

"Where's chief Prowlus?" Were the first words out of Spyro's mouth. This sentence seemed to embitter an already unhappy looking leader of the cheetah tribe as he responded with a growl.

"The people decided he was not taking our race in the direction they wanted to see it go. I am head of state now, and Prowlus? Well, he fled, fearing the wrath of the people for sacrificing their sons in a conflict that was not theirs." He said as Flame kept a growl in check.

"Malefor was a threat to your people as well as mine!" Spyro snapped, but Terrador kept him from speaking further.

"This is not why we're here. We are here to discuss trade. We have control of the gem mines, and are willing to trade for your resources."

The intimidating cheetah in the hood and cloak stood from his desk with a smirk on his face, the shadow from his hood hiding everything but his smile.

"Very well. Let us talk business, but be forewarned, that the proud cheetah people are no longer in support of your violent kind or their foolish wars."

**Ah, I love the smell of totalitarianism in the morning! and bonus points if you know where the phrase on the gate came from.  
till next time!**


	16. Chapter 16 Caesar

**CHAPTER 16**

They followed the Cheetah out of the chamber and into another room where a mound of treasure stood as high as all their heads.

"The people call me dear leader, but you may call me Caesar. As you can see, under my rule, the people have prospered, so any trade with your kind will be limited at best. I am however feeling generous, what do you wish to trade?" He said stopping at a balcony overlooking the village which had still been deserted.

After a lengthy negotiation, Caesar announced that he was pleased with the deal they had offered, and brought them back into his office.

"Wonderful, let us drink to this glorious advancement of the Cheetah people." He said as a servant brought in a tray full of a strange smelling transparent yellow liquid.

"This is our most valued drink, the Vitrius! To the prosperity of..._both_ our races." He said, seeming to sound bitter as he mentioned both species. They all downed their drinks, as Spyro nearly coughed it back up at its unfamiliar taste.

"We will send our caravans once a week. Be ready for them when they arrive. If I get word of any treachery on your part, the peoples army will not hesitate to strike back. Understand?" He said sternly, each dragon knowing he was absolutely serious.

"Very well. Let us go brothers." Terrador said as he led his party out with the escort of the guards. As they came to the main chamber from whence they came, the guard to Spyro's right grabbed his shoulder.

"You dropped this." He said, putting a piece of paper in his paw. That voice seemed so familiar, though he could only see the eyes of the guard through the half mask they all wore, save for Caesar.

Spyro squinted as he tried to place the familiar eyes, but the guard pushed him along, another guard commanding they keep up.

He kept the familiarity of the guard at the back of his mind as they walked through the streets again, only this time they passed a house with a large caged cart outside it. Spyro could hear commotion inside the house as a Cheetah came rocketing through the door as if he had been thrown out of his own house. He was followed by what appeared to be his wife and small child. four guards dressed in all black robes with the words 'Thought Police' on the back of their cloaks, swords in their hands.

"Get in there you swine!" One of the larger ones said as he picked up the male with one hand and tossed him rather violently in the caged cart, along with his wife. The cries of the child were stifled as he was loaded onto one of the horses the Thought Police had rode there on. The mother and father cried what Spyro guessed was the name of their child as the horse galloped toward the building they had just left, as the cage took off in another direction.

"Eyes forward Dragons!" One of the guards said as he noticed them looking at what had just happened.

They finally made it to the gate and within a few minutes they were outside the gates of the city once more.

Flame turned to the guardians with a look of disbelief on his face.

"What the hell was that!? You just let that Caesar guy walk all over you! We could have taken them out easy!"

Terrador's face changed to somewhat of a glare as he addressed the young dragon. He hated being talked down to like Caesar had done, but now was even more angry that the orange dragon had reminded him of what had just happened.

"Force is not appropriate in every situation Flame. You would do well to learn that." He nearly growled. Spyro too was quite surprised at the way not just Terrador, but the other guardians had taken the situation. His thoughts then drifted back to piece of paper he still held in his hand. He opened it and saw that it was a communique from none other than Hunter!

He elected to read it later as he tucked it underneath his wings.

"What do you think is going to happen to that family that got taken away?" Spyro asked, genuinely concerned, as was his nature.

"I dont know. It is best we respect their sovereignty, weather we like them or not, trade is vital to our survival if we are to make Warfang a thriving dragon metropolis again."

With that they took to the air and flew back to warfang as the sun began to set.

Spyro went straight back to his room as soon as he arrived, bidding Flame and the guardians goodnight.

He tried to close the door as quietly as possible, but he managed to wake Cynder regardless.

She stirred from her cushion as her eyes fluttered open.

"Hey, sorry to wake you." He said softly walking over to her.

"Dont worry about it. How did it go?"

"About like I expected. The Cheetah people have apparently changed a lot since we last helped them." He said sadly.

"What does Hunter and Chief Prowlus have to say about it?"

"Chief Prowlus is gone, and Hunter is still there, but he is a guard now. Which reminds me..." He said maneuvering his wing so as to produce the paper he was given.

"He gave me this, but I havent read it yet." He said placing it on the ground in front of him. It read:

_Spyro,  
_

_As you can see, much has changed since you last encountered my people. Unfortunately for the worse. Caesar was able to rally much support among the people after you defeated Malefor. He used the high mortal cost our people paid so that you had the chance to defeat him. It was with that support that he led a coup against Prowlus. The chief could not bring himself to fight off his own people, so he gave up power without any bloodshed. Unfortunately, the people misjudged Caesar, and he soon instilled harsh new laws, and formed a secret loyalty force called the 'Thought Police'. They take so called 'enemies of the revolution' to a secret location, and they are never seen again. As a matter of fact, the state makes sure that they are erased from history. Anyone caught mentioning an arrested person is also arrested. None of them are ever heard from again. It is hard for me to even write this to you now, as the state has eyes and ears everywhere. In two nights I will attempt to flee the city and head to Warfang to join you. It pains me to abandon my village, but I fear there is nothing I can do for them now._

_Your constant ally,  
Hunter_

He had read it aloud to Cynder and she was mortified, a familiar evil filling her head once more.

"The dark master had a similar way of keeping his minions in line. We have to help them!" She pleaded to him.

"I wish we could Cynder, but the guardians said we need to trade with them if we want Warfang to be a great city of dragons again."

She couldnt believe what she was hearing.

"How could you just let them do this to their own people?! How can you sleep at night Spyro!?"

Spyro sighed and retired to the cushion with Cynder.

"Its not that I dont want to help them, I just cant. Its either us or them..." He said.

"You dont sound like the Spyro I know..." She said sadly.

"I know. Sometimes, things change..."

**Short chap, I know but I wanted to stop here before I get into more plot elements. More bonus points if you know where I stole 'thought police' from.**


	17. Chapter 17 Problems And Solutions

**CHAPTER 17**

The morning came just as all the others, and Spyro and Cynder went downstairs for a quick breakfast before classes. While at the eating hall with Flame and the other dragons, the large bell tolled, signaling it was time for classes to begin. Today was sparring day with Terrador as they were told to meet outside the city walls where Flame had first been introduced to elemental attacks. A few dragons fought in the arena, much to the disappointment of the elder green dragon.

"As I suspected, you all must be trained in the style of draconic battle. Spyro! Flame! Front and center!" He barked as the two young dragons hastily made their way through the crowd and stood before Terrador.

"You two will spar, and show them how its done. Pay attention class, soon you will all be fighting this way!" He said as Flame and Spyro took their places on opposite ends of the circle.

"Ready? Begin!"

With that, Flame jumped into the air and with a flap of his wings, is sent crashing down toward Spyro fist first. The purple dragon saw him coming and quickly countered by grabbing his fist and slamming Flame into the dirt on his back. Flame countered with a tail sweep, tripping Spyro, allowing him time to get up and launch a fireball, hitting Spyro in the chest and sending him tumbling through the crowd.

Flame grinned as he watched Spyro make his way through the other dragons.

"That was good Flame. I gotta admit I didn't expect you to be as good as you are." He said shaking off the dust and ignoring the pain from the charred scales on his chest. "But fun time is over!" He said charging an electric shot, and launching it at him. As Flame was about to move out of the way, he found his feet frozen to the ground in block of ice.

"You used dragon time! Cheater-ahh!!" He said as he too was thrown out of his ice bonds and tumbled through the dirt, his anger rising so much that he could barely see straight.

"That's enough boys, all we needed was a short demonstration." Terrador said stepping between them.

"No fair! He used Dragon time!" Flame said brushing the dirt off of himself, his arms and chest still numb from Spyro's attack.

"There are no rules in combat Flame. Your enemy will not always play by the rules." Terrador said as he regained control of his class.

After class, Spyro and Cynder met up with Flame to ensure there were no hard feelings.

"No, I'm good. I got a good shot, you got a good shot. All in fun." He said smiling, dirt still smudged on his face.

"Let me get that for you Flame." Cynder said as she licked it off his face.

"Hehe, thanks Cynder..." He said, his scales seeming to turn an even brighter red.

"No problem." She said sweetly, much to Spyro's dismay.

XXX

The elders had waited until light out at moonrise to convene in Terradors chamber to discuss the position of Fire Guardian. Cyril was the last one inside, as he closed the door with his tail, though it didn't close all the way, like he thought it would.

"Spyro has returned brothers...I'm at quite a quandary with this decision, so I will but it to a vote." Terrador said.

"Do any of you have a valid reason why Flame should not be Fire guardian, and Spyro should be?" He continued. Cyril went first.

"Flame already feels the title is his, due to his ancestry. He qualifies all of the requirements of draconic law except for combat experience, and he has become able to control his emotions much more than when he first arrived."

Terrador looked to Volteer as he explained his choice of Spyro.

"He is a seasoned combat veteran, he is responsible for us even being alive, the only thing I can think of to hold him back would be the conception. Ignitus and Autumn were not married, so he is technically a bastard. However, when I was researching Ignitus things in the old temple, I came across a training manual with lessons intended to make Spyro the fire guardian. I can only assume it was what Ignitus wanted for him. Regardless of his conception, I cast my vote for Spyro to be the new fire guardian."

"I cast mine for Flame." Cyril said.

It was down to Terrador, he had to decide, as he was afraid he would. After hearing both sides, he voiced his answer.

"I too chose Spyro. I'm sorry Cyril, but he is the obvious choice." Terrador said, though Cyril was not bitter about it, he was only concerned how Flame would take this news, as he still had his outbursts.

XXX

Flame was summoned by Cyril to his chamber, along with all the elders to explain their decision.

"Flame...as you know, you have become a more powerful dragon than any of us could have ever hoped for. You have learned to control you emotions and to keep a level head in any situation, which is why we hope you understand what we're about to tell you." Flame, instead of having an expression of anxiety, had one of calm, as if what they were about to tell him were no more important than what he would be having for lunch that day.

"We talked it over, and we feel that Spyro has more experience in battle than yourself, so we have decided to make him the Fire guardian." They said, bracing for the young dragon to fly off the handle. But Flame did nothing of the sort.

"You're sure you want to do that? Ignitus was my father, and Spyro was born to a dragoness that was not bound to my father." He said in an unusually cool voice much to the guardians surprise.

"Yes, even though he was, Ignitus also wished that to be the case in one of the old manuals he had left behind in the old temple."

Flame looked at them all before turning to leave.

"Ok then."

"You...aren't upset? It's ok to be a little angry Flame." Terrador said.

"No, its your decision. I'm sure you have your reasons." He said leaving, just as calmly as he had entered. The guardians were stunned. They expected shouts and swearing, but none was had.

Spyro passed Flame on the way out of the chamber and spoke to him, not bothering to stop.

"Congratulations Spyro, you're the new Fire guardian." He said just a lackadaisically as possible.

"Wait, huh? Flame!" He called after him, but he had already disappeared into the crowd of other dragons shuffling from place to place.

Spyro was thoroughly confused as he entered the room with all the elders waiting for him.

"Flame just told me I'm the new fire guardian. Is that why you called me in here?"

"Yes, actually. We voted last night, and we wanted you to replace your father."

Spyro was not expecting this at all. The fire guardian? Him?

"Well... I thought Flame was supposed to be the Fire guardian...I don't want to be the one to take that away from him." He admitted. Though he wouldn't say so, he wanted a break from responsibility...but apparently fate had other plans.

"We've already spoken to Flame about this. He was fine with the idea." Terrador insisted as Spyro still wore an expression of uncertainty.

"If he's ok with it...then I guess I accept." He said with a slight notion of reluctance.

XXX

The next night was the night Hunter was supposed to make his escape from his home village. Spyro waited up for him on a high rampart as he looked to the direction of his village.

He looked into the bright moons as he was joined by another dragon. To his surprise, it was Flame, not Cynder.

"Oh, hey Flame. What are you doing up so late?"

"I could ask you the same question." He retorted.

"Fair enough. I'm waiting for an immigrant from the Cheetah village we trade with. Apparently things are a lot worse than they seem over there." He said looking back to the moons as Flame sat next to him.

"I came out here to tell you there are no hard feelings between you and I, about you becoming the Fire guardian." He said , making Spyro smile warmly at him.

"Thanks Flame. This is going to sound stupid, but I thought you'd be really upset. I saw how hard you've been training for it, and how much it meant to you."

"Its no problem Spyro. It just wasn't meant to be." He said calmly.

"Anyway, I'm going to grab a late dinner. You Hungry?"

"No, I gotta wait for Hunter."

"Alright, suit yourself. I'll ask Cynder." He said leaving. Spyro didn't show his emotions, but the thought of Flame with Cynder put a weight in his stomach.

'Enough of this Spyro! If you dont make a move now, she'll end up with Flame! You've seen the way they look at each other!' He thought to himself as he was soon interrupted by a tap on his shoulder, which made him jump almost out of his skin.

He turned and saw it was Nightwind.

"Girl trouble huh?" He said sitting next to him.

"Geez! You need to stop sneaking around like that!"

"Sorry Spyro. So you're worried about Flame taking Cynder from you are you?" He asked.

"Eh, its nothing..." He said, not wanting to reveal his personal problems to a stranger.

"You don't trust me do you?" He asked.

"Well I wouldnt say that...just..."

"I'll make a deal with you. I'll tell you something no one outside our tribe knows about myself. Remember when Flame asked about these?" He said turning so Spyro could see his markings on his back.

"Yeah, you seemed pretty defensive about it." He said.

"Well, they represent two of my fallen brothers. They were attacked by a powerful dark curse. Slowly, our tribe had to watch them change into evil bloodthirsty monsters, while we could do nothing to help them. Soon, they were a danger to the rest of the tribe...so as the leader, I had to kill them before they killed us. It was a burden I will always carry, which is why these two sig runes are on my back."

Spyro sat for a while taking in what he'd heard.

"Wow...That's awful Nightwind." He finally answered.

"Indeed, but its in the past. Now what troubling you with Cynder? She's quite the beautiful dragoness. Any male should be proud to call her his mate."

"Well...ever since we defeated Malefor, she admitted she loved me...but something about it just didn't feel right. Like there was still a lurking darkness that wouldn't let me love her in return unless it was defeated. I had a few dreams about its return...it tried to make me into the next dark master, but I was able to expel it. Before it left however, it told me that it was eternal, and that the universe always finds away to balance light and darkness. Until I either defeat or find out what the next darkness is...I don't feel right settling down with her, especially if I would just have to leave her again to fight."

The older dragon nodded as he considered his words.

"That's a valid concern Spyro, but if you keep worrying about when the next threat will arise, you wont be able to enjoy the peaceful time you could be sharing with Cynder."

Spyro smiled at how such a simple answer was right in front of him the whole time.

"Yeah...even she tells me I worry too much." He admitted.

"I'm glad I could help. I must get back to my tribe. You should get some rest after this Hunter fellow shows up. You've got the Fire Guardian ceremony tomorrow." He said turning to leave.

"How did you know...that?" He said looking behind him, but only talking to the crisp night air.

"Its really creepy how he does that..." He said to himself as he finally spotted a slender shadow in a cloak striding out of the woods in the silvery moonlight.

The sight of his cheetah companion brought a smile to his face, one that he was certain would not come tonight.

**Sorry for the delay chaps! I've been busy. enjoy and leave me some reviews!**


	18. Chapter 18 War!

**CHAPTER 18**

"Hunter! I thought you were coming tomorrow night?" Spyro said as he coasted down off the rampart to his companion outside the walls of the fortified city.

"I was able to get out a day early. I'm supposed to be on fire watch tonight." He said, his trusty bow and arrows across his back.

"Grab on, we can talk once we're inside." He said floating to his head level, motioning for him to grab his front paws.

In an instant they were at the rampart where he had sat earlier.

"Is it as bad as your letter made it sound?" Spyro asked straight away.

"Yeah, listen can I get something to eat before we talk? I've had nothing but bland goat for months." He said as Spyro then led him to the eating hall. No matter what time it was, you could always get whatever you liked here. Oddly enough, he didn't see Flame or Cynder here as he thought he would.

Once Hunter ate, he focused on the young dragons original question.

"Unfortunately its getting worse. I had to sneak my weapon out of the armory. My people live in a constant state of fear, and there is very little food, as the ruling class keeps it for themselves. It is said that Caesar has a special crystal that allows himself to listen in on the thoughts of his subjects near and far. Fortunately, I was able to counter it with this or I would have been picked up by the thought police a long time ago." He said removing a green crystal from under his hood.

"Some believe the device is a fragment of the seeing stone of Malefor himself, but its all just speculation. No one has ever seen it."

"Malefor's power is still around?"

"Here and there, but none more concentrated than on the cursed mountain."

"I hear that. So if the people are starving and scared, why don't they just revolt?"

"Because in order to get food, people join the army. If you follow orders, you get to eat. It comes down to this; one option gets you food and keep you alive, the other will probably kill you and may not guarantee you food, even if you live through the no doubt bloody battle that would ensue." He said setting his goblet down with a look of despair.

"That's awful Hunter...I wish there was something I could do."

"As do I, but trade with this city is too important to your wellbeing to incite anarchy in my village."

"In either case, I'm glad you're back with us Hunter." He said smiling at his old ally.

"I'm glad to be back Spyro." With that, Spyro showed him to his room and went off to his own, needing rest for tomorrows big event. As he approached the door however, he heard voices coming from inside, peppered by brief spurts of feminine laughter. He slowly pushed the door open and a twinge of anger burned in the back of his mind. Flame was on his bed with Cynder, next to her. Nothing intimate was happening, it appeared they were just talking, but Spyro kept his spark of jealous anger from becoming a full blown firestorm.

"Hey Spyro! Cynder was just telling me about how she was stuck in a cage, and you were almost eaten or something. Funny story!"

He forced a smile as he approached the two.

"Yeah it was...I'm kinda tired guys..." He said, hoping he wouldnt have to finish the rest of that awkward sentence.

"Right, you've got a big day tomorrow." Flame said getting off the bed and heading for the door.

"Goodnight Cynder. Later Spyro!" He said, emphasizing her goodbye as she smiled back at him, a slight blush evident on her ebony scales.

"Where've you been?" She asked as he climbed into bed, still warm from where Flame had been laying.

"Waiting for Hunter. He showed up tonight instead of tomorrow like he said he would."

"Really? He's here now?!" She said excitedly.

"Yeah, I showed him to his room before I came back here."

"Why didn't you come get me?" She asked slightly annoyed.

"I don't know...I didn't want to interrupt your dinner date." He said with an inflection she had never heard before.

"It wasn't a date, I was hungry and he was hungry too! I don't see how that's a date!" She said offended. Then it hit her. It was so obvious!

"I know what this is about. You're jealous! Of Flame spending time with me!" She said grinning devilishly, knowing she had her purple companion all but figured out.

"No its not. I'm not jealous of you two. He's hasn't done anything to be jealous of anyway." He said unconcerned, hiding the fact that Cynder was one hundred percent right.

"That's what you think..." She said softly. Spyro whipped his head toward her and nearly snapped;

"What did he do?!"

"I knew it! You are jealous!" She said. In truth, they hadn't done a thing, but she proved her point.

Spyro rolled over to face away from her before turning slowly back to her.

"Fine Cynder. I love you." The purple dragon spat.

She didn't picture those words coming out the way they did. She pictured a much more romantic setting, a sunset picnic, a day at the beach, not a dark bedroom after a fight.

"No." She whispered.

"Excuse me?" He replied, stunned.

"No, you don't."

"Yes I do! I just said I did!" He said still in slight disbelief.

"I don't believe you. Night Spyro." She said rolling away from him.

"So you're just going to go to sleep, and leave me hanging like this?" He still in shock.

"Yep. Night Spyro, you should get some rest." She said nonchalantly.

After about thirty seconds, Spyro sat back up in bed.

"Seriously Cynder?"

"GoodNIGHT, Spyro!"

The purple dragon rolled over in a huff as he now had to deal with his first defeat.

XXX

Spyro was up before the sun as he got ready for the ceremony. Dressing in the traditional flame red robes, with ancient draconian runes spiraling up them as Cynder began to stir in the bed.

"Nice threads." She said giggling.

"Its tradition. Trust me, I wouldn't be wearing this if it wasn't absolutely necessary." He said as he started toward the door.

"You're coming to the ceremony right?" He asked.

"Of course I am." She said as if the events of last night never happened.

"Its in a few hours. See you there!" He said closing the door.

After an abbreviated class with Volteer without Spyro, Cynder looked for Flame, but found him absent as well.

"Spyro's with Terrador preparing for the ceremony...I wonder where Flame is?" She said to herself as class got out. She decided to go to his room to see if he was sick. Upon reaching his door, she gently knocked, but got no response from within.

"Flame? Are you feeling ok?" She said as she pushed the door open. She found no one there, but many books scattered across his desk.

"Looks like Flames been studying..." She said looking around his room, realizing she had never actually been inside it before.

"I hope he's ok." She said leaving his room, as it was almost time for the ceremony. She entered the great hall and found all the tables cleared away as all of the dragons and manweresmalls in the city were crammed in to witness the coronation of a new fire guardian.

Cynder walked back to where Spyro and the other elders where waiting.

His face immediately brightened when he saw her coming.

"Hey Cynder!"

"Hi Spyro...Hehe you look just as goofy as you did this morning." She said smiling at him, suppressing laughter.

"Yeah yeah, very funny." He said returning her grin.

"Have you seen Flame?" She asked.

"He's not out there?"

"No, and he wasn't in class either."

"I hope he's ok. I should've known he was upset." Spyro said with genuine concern for his brother.

"I'm sure he's ok. Good luck out there Spyro!" The black dragoness said returning to the crowd of spectators.

After a few minutes, trumpets blasted throughout the hall, as the ceremony began. Terrador stood on an elevated platform as Spyro walked down the isle in his traditional garb and ascended the stairs.

"Young dragon, do you accept the position of Fire Guardian?" He asked in a booming voice that echoed throughout the hall.

"Yes."

"Are you willing to defend the dragon race at all costs, and with your life, if need be?" The earth dragon asked in the same tone, remembering Ignitus' sacrifice.

"I am."

"Then behold the sacred fire crystal!" He said as he grabbed a small ornate box and opened it, revealing a pulsing bright red gem, that appeared to have a fire burning inside its core.

"Take hold of the crystal, and know the element you will come to embody!" He said as Spyro grabbed it, feeling a wave of heat start at his forepaw and race to the ends of his body. Then a column of fire erupted from the crystal, but did not burn anything.

"The crystal agrees!" He said proudly as Spyro placed it back in the box.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you, the new Fire-" Terrador was interrupted mid sylable by the giant double doors of the great hall being flung open loudly.

All heads turned to the opener, and Spyro and Terradors eyes widened to see that it was Flame, and he was riddled with arrows. After a few seconds of shocked silence, Flame collapsed on the ground. Spyro ran off of the platform and cradled Flames head in his arms as Cynder came up behind them, the other elders clearing a path to him.

"Flame! What happened?!" He said with tears in his eyes.

"Caesar...assassin..." He said before passing out.

"Spyro we must get him to the medical wing!" Terrador said picking up Flames body in one motion, minding the arrows sticking out from his body.

**Oh snap, looks like a good old fashioned war is on the horizon! reviews please!**


	19. Chapter 19 Battlefield Of Love

**CHAPTER 19**

Spyro paced angrily outside of Flames operating room, silently fuming and plotting how best to avenge the attack of the only blood relative he had left.

"Spyro...we should wait until Flame wakes up and gives us his full account. Then we can decide on a course of action-"

"Wait until he wakes up?! Did you see how many arrows were in him?! What if he never wakes up? Then where will we be?" He glared as he felt his rage building inside his heart. Just thinking of his injured brother was enough to put tears of fury in his eyes.

It was then that Terrador stepped out of the operating room doors, his chest splattered in places with blood.

"It was a lengthy task, but none of his wounds were fatal. Its really a miracle he is alive...He should be able to tell us who did this now." The green earth dragon said as Cyril and Spyro followed him into the room where Volteer was still stitching his wounds closed as Flame weakly winced at the pain.

"Flame! Thank the gods you're ok!" Spyro said hugging his brother, the red dragon returning the embrace as Cynder also joined them.

"Hey, pretty lady." Flame said as Spyro returned to his bedside.

Cynder's hug lasted considerably longer, and ended with a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm so glad you're ok!" She said happily as Flame looked at all the people who had come to wish him well.

"I really appreciate you guys coming to see me." He said warmly.

"You think I wouldn't come visit my own brother in the hospital? You know me better than that!"

"Yes, we all care about your well being Flame, but we need to know who did this to you." Terrador said changing the mood from happy to serious.

Flame sighed before he began.

"It was an assassin...a cheetah assassin. He said he had a message for the dragons. At first he didn't have his bow drawn, so I didnt think he was a threat. I asked him what the message was...then he drew a handful of arrows and strung his bow and told me my corpse would deliver the message. After that, I only remember bits and pieces of stumbling to the great hall as the assassin escaped out of the window."

There was silence briefly, then Spyro pounded his fist on the table in front of him.

"Those two timing fascists!" He snapped aloud.

"This cant go unanswered! This is war!" Spyro said as he stormed toward the door.

"Spyro stop!" Terrador ordered in a voice Spyro had never heard before, causing him to stop for no other reason other than shock.

"There will be retribution Spyro, but we must plan it out. You are the fire guardian, and as such we must deliberate to decide our swiftest course of action. We should also fetch Hunter, no doubt his information about the Cheetahs will be of tremendous help."

Spyro growled but agreed.

"Fine. Then lets go. These bastards will pay for what they did to you Flame."

"I know they will buddy...I know they will."

XXX

"I don't believe this! We just got done fighting a bloody war and now Caesar goes and does this!" Hunter said as he paced back and forth in the guardians chambers as they tried to figure out the best way to respond.

"It doesn't add up! What would Caesar have to gain from a war with the dragons?" Spyro asked.

His question stopped Hunter dead in his tracks as his expression was one of surprise.

"Of course! I know why now! Our people have to constantly been at war with someone! Or else, all the goods that the common cheetah produces will go to them, and increase their standard of living, and thus decrease their reliance on Caesars government! He keeps us in war to keep us oppressed!" He answered.

"So if we start a war, wont we just be playing into his hands?" Terrador asked.

"I cannot tell you weather a war is the answer or not, that is for the guardians to decide. But should you choose that path, I will help in any way I can." He said as the cheetah left them to deliberate.

"Very well hunter. Be in the great hall in two hours. We will announce our decision to everyone then." Cyril responded as Hunter nodded and took his leave.

Two hours passed and soon every dragon and Manweresmall was anxiously awaiting the verdict of the guardians.

Soon, the guardians walked in from the back of the hall and up onto the coronation stage where Spyro was crowned Fire Guardian only hours before, Flames blood still staining the entrance.

"My fellow dragons, a great wrong has befallen us today, a wrong that will not go unpunished! Today, we dragons declare war on Caesar and anyone loyal to him! Now take up arms young ones, for tomorrow we stain the earth red with their blood!" Terrador announced.

The crowd roared in approval as the guardians left the stage and were followed by Hunter into the massive library to find anything useful on the Cheetah people.

After much planning, Spyro finally got a break and went to visit Flame in his room, still recovering from his multiple injuries.

He knocked softly on the door in case he was asleep, but was answered with a 'come in'.

"How are you feeling Flame?" He asked smiling at his brother.

"Better. The hospital wing did a really good job."

"Yeah they did. Can you believe out of ten arrows, none of them were fatal? That's some lucky streak you've got.

"Hehe, yeah, I'm just that good I guess..."

"Anyway, I came to tell you that we're going to war with Caesar! I'll avenge you Flame, you have my word!" The purple dragon said almost proudly at the chance to defend the honor of his last living relative.

"Nice...Be careful out there Spyro."

"Dont worry about me. You just get better. Maybe if you're well enough in time you can come watch the fight and see how a pro wages war." He said with his trademark cocky smirk.

"I can only hope hot shot." He said sarcastically.

"Good night Flame."

"Night Spyro."

XXX

The next day, all dragons of battle age were required to report to the armory first thing in the morning. Terrador and the other guardians including Spyro were there to size and issue armor to the young ones about to be thrust into the fiery crucible of combat. As soon as everyone was armored, their army assembled outside the city as the elders inspected their forces.

"This is a huge risk Spyro. If we've underestimated Caesars forces this could be the end of our race." Terrador said gravely.

"Hunter wouldn't lie. We can beat him, free his people and avenge Flame in one move. Trust me, when have I steered you wrong?" He said with a firm tone, like he was tired of always being doubted by his elders. no doubt by this point he knew as much if not more about combat.

"Very well Spyro. The troops are yours to command."

He nodded and spread his wings, raising a fist in the air, which was followed in unison by the soldiers he was to lead.

"Today we defend our home, our race and most importantly, each other! I will be watching out for all of you, I expect you to do the same for me, as no one dragon can win a war by himself. For a free race, a free land and, for Flame!"

"FOR FLAME!" They roared as the guardians took off, Hunter hanging onto Spyros forepaws and were followed by their army destined for war.

Cynder watched from the window of Flame room as the males flew off into the horizon.

"They'll be fine Cynder, you're going to give yourself an ulcer if you keep worrying like this." Flame said weakly.

The ebony dragoness turned around to face him, slowly walking away from the window.

"Yeah...I guess you're right. Your wounds are healing really fast Flame! That's amazing..." She said finding it unusual that such deep wounds could heal so quickly.

"I must get that from my dad." He said as he looked at a wound on the sole of his forepaw, which was the only one not healing as fast as the others. He quickly covered it with the blanket as Cynder sat on his bed with him.

"So...if you dont mind my asking...What exactly happened to you?"

Flame merely smiled and took a deep breath as he regaled her with his ordeal.

"A cheetah assassin in a black cloak scaled the tower and nailed me a couple times before leaving me for dead. Guess he didnt count on me telling Spyro who was responsible." He said smiling.

"Yeah...I'm glad you're okay. I don't know what I would have done if something happened to you. I don't think I could take losing another friend..." She said getting a little teary eyed remembering Ignitus.

Flame pulled her into a hug, herself resting on the soft cotton bandages wrapped around his chest.

"You wont have to worry about that. Nothing's ever going to happen to me." He said confidently.

"I know Flame...I'm just tired of seeing people I love hurt." Cynder wished she could retract those words as soon as they passed her lips. She nearly covered her mouth in surprise.

"I uhh...have to go study. Bye Flame." She said hurriedly getting off his bed and zipping out the door before he had a chance for a rebuttal.

However...he couldn't help but grin. It appeared as though Spyro wasn't the only eligible bachelor in Warfang.

**Oh my, Spyro is off fighting and Cynder is no longer sure her heart belongs to only him! more developments to come! R&R's ppl.**


	20. Chapter 20 No Rest For The Weary

**CHAPTER 20  
**

Spyro's battle group flew low over the treetops, waiting for the Cheetah village to appear over the horizon.

"Remember, I want minimal civilian casualties! If they have no weapon, you don't attack. Understood?" Spyro asked.

"Yes sir!" His soldiers responded.

Just at that moment, the village appeared on the horizon.

Spyro wore a solemn expression as the prepared to release the anger he had pent up over Flames attack. And to sweeten the deal, it appeared as though the dragons had caught them off guard! Perhaps they thought them too weak for a counterattack.

"Dragon attack! Battle stations! This is not a drill!" This call rang out through the fortress village as the males in armor took up positions on the wall and on their artillery pieces.

"Sir! The dragons are attacking the village!" One of Caesars guards said as he burst into his chamber. The Cheetah in charge growled as he glared at the bearer of bad news.

"Of course they are. Rally the homeland defence force! We will beat these bastards back!" He said storming out of his office and toward the armory.

The dragons fired their elements onto the buildings and soldiers as arrows began to fill the sky, causing the dragons to take evasive action.

"Terrador! You, Cyril and Volteer take the troops and fight them in the village! I will go after Caesar." Spyro said as he pulled away from the group.

"Very well. Young ones! Follow me!" Terrador ordered as they swooped down onto the frightened townspeople as they ran for their lives from the flames descending from above.

Spyro narrowed his form so he picked up speed toward Caesars palace as he came under heavy arrow fire. Soon, he wasn't able to get within 100 feet of his palace without being drilled full of holes.

"Damnit! I cant get through! This isnt over!" He said blasting a fireball towards Caesars palace before breaking off and aiding his friends in the fight against the Cheetah army.

"Fight hard boys! We will defend our race from all those who would dare attack us!" Terrador shouted.

"Forward cheetahs! The treacherous dragons have double crossed us! We must fight on! Give your lives for the preservation of the state!" Caesar said over the loudspeakers in his native language.

Almost half the village would burn to the ground before the day was through.

Spyro looked out over the wrath the village had suffered and grinned. While many homes and buildings were destroyed, there was minimal loss of civilian and dragon life. Even though he was unable to reach his intended target, Spyro felt his message had gotten through. The dragons would not be pushed around by anyone.

He and the guardians hovered into the air along with the remains of their army. The flames of the village and the cries of the wounded and innocents began to tear at the purple dragons heart. He was truly tired of war, and all this fighting was beginning to take its toll.

"Dragons! Retreat! Our vengeance has been executed!" Volteer cried as they flew back towards Warfang. Spyro took one last look before he left and saw something that would stay with him all the days of his life. A Cheetah cub, not more than three, on his knees, vigorously shaking his parents shoulders as he cried. How he wished they would wake up, but alas, they were gone. Spyro closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as he flew away, unable to get that scene he had just witnessed out of his mind.

As the dragons flew away, cheers broke out on the ground as the warrior Cheetahs celebrated their driving off of the dragons. Caesar came to his balcony and surveyed with furious anger the village he ruled as it burned in various spots, staining the once blue sky a dark red and black.

"So my liege, when are we heading to Warfang?" A bodyguard asked as Caesar put both paws on the ledge, his red cape blowing softly in the breeze as ashes carried by the wind smeared his face.

"Soon. And when we get there, we will burn it to the ground. Assemble the remaining forces, and call up all able forces from the neighboring villages. The dragons will know our power soon enough."

The dragon task force arrived at Warfang after an hour or so of flight. They landed on the wall and were greeted as heroes by all creatures residing in the walled city. After the cheers subsided, the elders debriefed the young dragons.

"You have all done well. For many of you, that was your first taste of combat. You all performed your duties admirably, and those who gave their lives...we will never forget their sacrifice. With Caesars army destroyed, we need not fear retaliation, and our world is once again at peace. You are dismissed. Rest well tonight brothers." Terrador said.

Spyro caught up with Hunter after the battle weary crowd had begun to disperse.

"You ok? I know it must have been strange fighting your own kind." He said emphatically.

"Yeah...I guess this is how you felt when you fought Cynder and Malefor huh?"

He nodded.

"Don't worry about me Spyro, I've been trained to kill any who betray the state. I wish I could say killing my own kind was new to me, but in order to keep my cover...I had to."

"No one blames you Hunter. Now you should get some rest."

"Yeah, thank you Spyro. You look like you could use some shuteye too. Minus the armor of course." He said brushing some of the dirt and ash from his shoulder plates.

"Heh, right. I'm gonna check on Flame and Cynder before I turn in." He said walking toward the medical wing, removing his helmet. He knocked on Flames door, and heard a tired 'come in'.

"Spyro! You're alive!" He said happily as he hobbled out of bed and hugged his brother.

"C'mon, I cant believe you doubted me!" He said smiling as he returned his brothers embrace.

"I told you I'd take revenge for you."

"Really? What happened? Did you kill Caesar?"

"It was almost too easy. Its like they didn't think we'd retaliate after what they did! Most of the village was in flames when we left but...I wish there had been a way to avoid getting the innocent townspeople involved...There were some casualties... and unfortunately I wasn't able to get to Caesar."

Flame expression dropped at his mention of innocent lives taken.

"Its a shame Spyro...it really is... but at least we wont have to worry about any more assassins."

"That's right, we destroyed nearly his entire army." Spyro said, a smile returning to his face.

"Good to hear Spyro. The doctors say I'll be able to leave tomorrow." He said climbing back into bed.

"That's good. I'll be looking forward to seeing you around the city again Flame." He said turning to leave.

"Same here. Goodnight Spyro."

"Night Flame."

After a short walk, Spyro was back in his room where Cynder nearly tackled him to the ground, covering his dirty face in kisses.

"I'm happy to see you too Cynder!" He said returning her affections.

"Don't you ever fight without me again!" She snapped, but not in a stern tone.

"Deal. I'm so glad to be back with you." He whispered to her as she began to take off his armor.

"Cynder...what are you doing?"

"Helping you with your armor...I know how hard it is to get off sometimes...and try not to bleed on the new rug I bought today." She said.

She stripped the shin-guards off and then his breast plate, slowly dragging her claw lightly along his chest in a seductive manner.

"Uh...Cynder?"

"Shh...I really missed you today, so I've got a surprise for you." She said pushing him over onto the bed on his back.

Cynder strattled him and held his arms down.

"I-is this your s-surprise?" He said nervously.

"Kinda..." She said smiling seductively, putting her weight onto Spyro's groin, eliciting the desired effect.

"Cynder...d-do you think this is a g-good-"

"Aww, whats the matter? The big strong purple dragon doesn't like being powerless?" She said playfully as she leaned in.

He made a concerned groan as his nervousness began to get the better of him, but before he knew what was happening, her lips and his were one.

Spyro lost himself in the moment and before he knew it, she pulled back, staring lovingly into his eyes.

"Now for step two..." She said sitting back up, putting her weight back onto his groin, dragging her claws lightly over his chest.

"W-whats step two?" He asked nervously.

"Glad you asked..." She said as she grabbed that most sensitive of male areas, which made Spyro nearly yelp in surprise.

"Cynder! I-I cant do this." He said sliding out from under her.

"Spyro what the hell is wrong with you!? I've been doing nothing but throwing myself at you and every attempt is met with this same reaction!" She snapped angrily. This was the last straw.

"I'm sorry Cynder-"

"No! I don't want another excuse! If you don't want to be with me, I know someone who does!" She said storming toward the door, knocking Spyro out of the way as she went.

Spyro just sat there on his haunches where Cynders blow had landed him. How is it possible that he was more confused and upset now, than he ever remembered being when Malefor was terrorizing the world? He didn't know as he sat his head against the wall, his mind now drifting back to the little Cheetah cub his army had orphaned. He considered all of these things, and felt rage grow inside him.

He banged his fist on the floor, crashing straight through the floorboards.

'I heard its supposed to be darkest just before dawn...I hope that's true...things couldn't get much darker.' He thought as his eyelids began to make their weight felt.

**Well, looks like there's trouble on two fronts! only a couple chaps to go, so now the plot is really gonna thicken. stay tuned! **


	21. Chapter 21 The Tie That Binds

**CHAPTER 21**

**Whats this? Another update?! TMHB77 You madman! **

**I figure I keep you guys waiting for an unpredictable amount of time, and for being loyal reviewers, I wanted to reward y'all!  
**

Just as Spyro was about to admit defeat and give in to unconsciousness when his eyes shot open.

'No! I wont let it end like this!' He said getting up, still wearing his back and rear leg armor. He ignored the splinters in his fist and flung the door open. The hallways were deserted as it was now very late. Thinking where she could have gone, only one place came to mind.

"Flame." He muttered to himself as he took off at breakneck speed down the hallway toward the medical wing.

Within no time he had navigated the maze of corridors and found himself outside of Flames room, stopping only to catch his breath.

He nearly broke the door down as he entered, only to be greeted with an empty room, save the Manweresmall nurse folding bedsheets.

"Oh dear! You shouldnt scare people like that!" She said as she dropped her linens.

"Sorry, what happened to the dragon who was in this room?" He asked urgently.

"Oh he was released a few hours ago. A very pretty black dragoness left with him. Said something about wanting to be alone with someone who actually loves her. Ahh young love. Beautiful isn't it?" The nurse said turning back to Spyro, but she was talking to an empty doorway as Spyro had dashed outside the building. He looked to the hill were he, Cynder and Flame spent their time off, the solitary oak tree casting a long shadow in the full moons. From the high fortress wall, he could make out two dragon shapes out on the hill.

He zipped off the wall, flying as fast as possible, so fast in fact he felt as though his wings would dislocate if he went any faster. About halfway there, he recognized Flames outline lean up against the tree, followed by Cynder falling into his arms. Their forms so close there was only one thing they could have been doing. A fire rose inside Spyro's chest as he continued his almost supersonic flight toward the two dragons. Tears flowed from his face as he charged a fireball, his rage guiding him to a suicide charge. He was now within feet of his targets, but noticed something strange about them. They were only silhouettes of Flame and Cynder! Their glowing purple eyes locked with his as dark energy tentacles attacked him.

"_Did you think we had forgotten about you Spyro?" _They said as the two separate shadows merged into one mass of darkness.

"No! I expelled you! You cant hurt me anymore!"

The shapeless mass only laughed at the purple dragons protest as its evil slowly dragged him towards it.

_"We can do as we wish! Did you really think you were more powerful than the universe itself?"_

"This is impossible! I'm not evil, I never will be! You'll have to kill me first!" He snarled as he fought with all his strength to get away from the black hole that was sucking him towards it.

_"Foolish dragon! That can be arranged! Your jealousy towards Flame has endeared us to your heart Spyro! Now we make you do our bidding!" _They hissed as he grew ever closer to the now massive shadow creature, its dark violet eyes glaring deep into his soul, as if infecting it with some sort of malignancy only wrought by the essence of pure evil.

"No!" Spyro awoke with a start, his chest heaving rapidly. He looked around, and found himself still in his and Cynder's bedroom. The sheets still on the ground from their fight. He looked at his fist. Still covered in blood and splinters, the hole he punched in the floor still splattered with a little bit of his blood.

He rested his head against the wall, still gasping for breath. He slowly got to his feet, staying off his injured forepaw, he hobbled down the hallway to Flames room.

This time, he found the door open slightly. He stopped before entering, as he heard the muffled voices, scattered sobs breaking up the sentences he couldn't understand.

He didn't feel this nervous before his face off with Malefor. He summoned every bit of courage in his body and pushed the creaky door open, silencing both parties. They both looked to the intruder and Cynder immediately buried her face in Flames chest as he held her in his hospital bed.

Flame whispered something in her ear and he climbed out of bed in his freshly wrapped white bandages. Cynder stayed put, making sure not to even think in Spyro's direction.

His half brother had nothing short of a glare on his face as he stepped outside his room, Spyro following him. Flame shut the door so Cynder wouldn't hear what was being said outside.

Flame raised himself on his hind legs and folded his arms in silence, as Spyro dropped his head.

"Well?" Flame asked.

"Well what?"

"Aren't you going to tell me the perfectly logical and not absolutely insane reason you wont allow the most beautiful dragoness I have ever laid eyes on to get close even emotionally to you? Because I will tell you this, if you weren't my half brother, I'd kick your ass, or at least try to for what you've done to her. She loves you. More than you will ever know. But you've pushed her away too many times, and now look who's bed she's in." He said as Spyro began to feel the anger from his dream returning to his heart.

"You don't love her. Not like I do." Spyro said raising on his back legs to go eye-to-eye with his brother.

"Really? I'm sorry, did she cry on your shoulder when her oldest friend didn't want anything to do with her? When you pushed her away, who was there to catch her?" He continued in that sharp tone that cut through Spyro like a red hot blade.

"Shut up Flame." He growled as he felt both fists clench in rage.

"Oh? Have I finally touched a nerve of the purple hero? The one who- No. I don't want to say anything I'd regret. She's mine now. You had your chance." He snapped, narrowing his gaze.

Spyro barred his fangs as Flame reached for the door.

There was a few thuds outside the room as Spyro and Flame scuffled.

"You'll never love her like I do!" He growled as he snapped and bit at his brother.

"You blew your shot! She belongs with me!" He said reversing Spyro's pin, though he quickly countered by throwing Flame off. They both grappled with their forepaws, raising each other onto their hind legs, both bringing each others razor sharp tail blade to the others neck. One twitch of the tail, and it would all be over.

"Do you love her?!" Flame snapped.

Spyro wasn't really sure how to answer, his head was clouded in fury, then he realized what his dream meant, and what the darkness had said.

"Yes." He said softly.

"I said DO YOU LOVE HER?!" He shouted right into Spyro's face, slamming him against the wall.

"YES!" He answered just as loud in his brothers face.

The red orange dragon released Spyro and removed his blade from his brothers neck.

"I'm not the one you should be telling." He whispered to him.

At that moment, Spyro loved his brother more than any other male on the planet.

"You've got however long it takes me to walk around the medical wing to fix this. I hope you've got some tricks up that armored sleeve of yours. You know as your brother, I believe in you, but she is really upset. I mean REALLY upset. I'm not even sure you telling her how you feel is gonna fix this."

"Thanks for the encouragement." Spyro said sarcastically.

"Good luck." He said as he turned to walk down the hallway.

Spyro took a deep breath, and opened the thick wooden door. Cynder looked over her shoulder, expecting Flame, but growled upon seeing Spyro. She jumped off of Flame's bed and went straight for the door.

"Cynder stop!" He said grabbing hold of her.

"Let me go! I have nothing to say to you Spyro!" She spat, as if his very name was poison.

He could see the tears falling to the floor, though he couldn't see her face.

"If you've never listened to me before, listen now!" He demanded as she finally relented, turning her head so one eye was towards him, filled with tears.

"Do you know how long it took to convince myself that if I did what I did in our room, you wouldn't push me away? That you wouldn't think I was some slut?!" She said breathlessly.

That shot hit Spyro right in the chest, but he braced himself, ready to take his lumps like an adult.

He shook his head slowly.

"You're god damn right you don't!" She yelled through her pain. A few moments of silence passed before Cynder revealed a secret that would shatter Spyro's previous perceptions of her.

"You weren't there...you don't know what Malefor did to me while he owned me..."

Spyro felt anger at his dead adversary rise, but it was quickly replaced with empathy for his ebony companion.

"My gods...Cynder I-I had no idea..." He started, but Cynder raised her paw to silence him.

"I thought I would never be able to get close to anyone again...especially after you set me free. The darkness left me, but the memories...the memories stayed." She said biting her bottom lip to keep from breaking down all together.

"Now...you had something to say?" She whispered.

Spyro felt the long dormant love he held for her in his heart flare forward as he gathered his thoughts and prepared the sentence he hoped would fix this whole mess.

"I... love you. I love you more than I could possibly tell you here, or anywhere... which is why..." He paused to take another breath. "I want you to-" The whole city seemed to shake violently as Spyro was thrown to the floor as was Cynder. They looked at each other with concern, then they heard a familiar noise, as dust shaken loose from the initial rumble settled from the ceiling onto the floor. A sound they hadn't heard since the two of them defended the city against Malefor. Air raid sirens.

"What's going on?" Cynder asked going to the window.

Spyro followed her and they were amazed at what filled the nighttime sky. Searchlights from Warfang scanned the sky as anti aircraft fireballs exploded randomly through the heavens.

"I don't know...They look like..." Spyro began as he squinted his eyes, but the door flung open cutting him off. It was Hunter.

"Spyro! Caesar has mounted a counterattack! We must repel it!"

Two Cheetahs each rode on the strange wooden contraptions filling the sky, one steering, and another firing a tail mounted rapid fire crossbow, and dropping the large barrels of explosives over their city.

He turned to Cynder and opened his mouth, but she closed it.

"I'm fighting with you. No buts about it. We'll continue this conversation after we kill Caesar for what he did to Flame."

"I hope he's ok."

"Me too."

He smiled at her, and for the time being, she returned it. The two warrior partners reunited once more for one last battle.

"I think you'll be needing this." Hunter said handing Spyro the rest of his armor and Cynder her armor.

Spyro grabbed his loves hand and they looked out the window at the raging air battle going on outside.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Ready." She responded.

The two of them burst out the window, and Hunter leaped from it as well, bow drawn and arrow notched.

The second battle for Warfang had begun, but it would last longer than any could have expected.

**Looks like Spyro has brokered a temporary truce with Cynder! But that argument isnt over. and Flame was outside when the Cheetahs attacked! Is he ok? time will tell. leave some revs my friends!**


	22. Chapter 22 Click Click Boom

**CHAPTER 22 **

_Bang bang bang bang._

The anti aircraft fire rattled all around them as Spyro and Cynder flew through the thick black clouds, launching fireballs and poison at the circling Cheetah air forces.

Each of the pilots had a communication crystal near their mouth and kept in constant contact with their high command.

"Cynder, you take the north section, I'll take the south!" She nodded and broke off as Spyro created a shield of fire around himself and crashed straight through a Cheetah attack plane, sending the occupants plummeting to their doom.

He cut a gentle arc through the air and smoke, dodging the random arrows that came whizzing by. He looked around for his next target as gradually, the sky filled with the other dragons from the city as they realized it was under attack.

"Spyro! At last I have the privilege to fight along side the mighty purple dragon!" Nightwind said flying up to his level. Although the purple dragon was not keen on war, he did love a good competition. He returned a toothy grin to his new battle companion and said

"Thanks, how about you show me how the chief of the Skywatchers fights?" He flashed a return smile and shot a fireball through an aircraft.

"Not bad Nightwind, now let me show you how its done!"

xXx

"Caesar, the bombers have almost emptied their payloads. What are your orders?" His second in command asked in his war room.

"Is the artillery in position?" He asked in a calm tone, seeing the battle with a fragment of Malefors old seeing stone.

"Yes my lord."

"Leave no building standing." He said coldly.

xXx

"Cynder! Behind you!" Volteer said releasing a burst of lightning at the oncoming aircraft, frying the occupants as the wood caught fire.

"Thanks Volteer!" She said pursuing another one. After a few minutes, all of the remaining aircraft began flying away from Warfang as Cynder stopped her chase.

"They're retreating...?" She said as she and Volteer hovered above the city. She spied Cyril flying towards them from his tower, with an urgent expression on his face.

"It appears so! What a joyous turn of events!" The electric dragon said with delight. He never relished fighting like Terrador, he was a fan of the spoken word more than anything.

"Have either of you seen Flame?" He said with genuine concern now that he was within earshot.

"I haven't."

"Neither have I. Is he ok?" Cynder asked worried.

"I don't know, that's what I'm trying to figure out!" He said as their conversation was paused due to a distant rumble from the direction the bombers had retreated to.

Cyril looked south.

"There are no storm clouds...what could that have been?"

Cynder's battle instinct gave her a hint, and she let the others in on it.

"Trouble..."

xXx

"Yes sir." A cheetah commander said holding his comm crystal to his ear. He set it down and faced his men as they awaited his command, their line of massive cannons already sighted in for Warfang.

"Ready the cannons!" He ordered as his words inspired a flurry of activity and clanging of metal. Once the noise had silenced, they all looked to him again. He looked at the city skyline as trails of smoke from the firebombs drifted downwind.

He smiled as he raised his arm straight in the air.

"Paybacks a bitch." He said to himself.

"Fire!" He said casting it forward.

The roar of the cannons along with the fire coming from their mouths could match Spyro's most powerful fireball.

xXx

Spyro too heard the rumbling and looked south. Before he had a chance to ask Nightwind what he thought it was, his eyes widened in terror as he saw hundreds of fireballs rise from the distant treetops.

"Get to cover!" He shouted to as many fighters as he could, grabbing Nightwind and dodging the falling death in an attempt to get out of their range.

"What about Warfang!?"

"We cant move the whole city! We have to go until they stop firing!"

The purple hero's thoughts drifted to the defenseless Manweresmall families who couldn't simply fly out of the war zone. He hoped these old buildings would hold up, but if the last attack was any indication, they'd have quite the search and rescue after this was all over.

Cynder grabbed the guardians forepaws and dragged them away from the city as the artillery punished the city. Caesars fury would be felt by all in Warfang.

They could only look on in horror as their city was nearly flattened by the artillery.

After half an hour, the guns finally fell silent as they ran out of ammo. There was an eerie silence cast over the city as they slowly flew to the still standing outer wall, landing on it to regroup with the surviving dragons and manweresmalls.

"Cynder!" Spyro said seeing her land on the high wall he and Nightwind were flying towards. This time it was he who tackled her to the ground.

"Thank the gods your alive! I thought the artillery would have-"

"Looks like its my turn to say your line. You doubted me?" She said smiling as she got up, but the cheerful reunion was cut short as Terrador looked to the plains outside the city.

Thousands of Cheetah warriors massed in the distance, their banners flying in the breeze, the black paw on the red background faced menacingly toward the walls as they made Caesars intent more than clear.

"This fight isn't over yet I'm afraid!" He said as the rest of them turned to face where the earth guardian was looking. It was like Malefor's army had risen again to threaten them once more, though this time it wasn't apes, it was Cheetahs. Their battle cries echoed through the valley as they marched toward the city.

"Get ready dragons! This will be our final battle!" Terrador shouted as he flew off the wall and was followed by those who could. Once they were over the advancing army, Spyro had to marvel at the sheer number of them.

"Where was Caesar hiding all these troops? The bloody moons?!" Nightwind said as if he knew what Spyro was thinking.

"I don't know. That just means there's more for us to do!" Spyro answered swooping down on the attacking forces, flinging fireballs at the approaching cheetahs.

The dragons could only pelt the advancing army, not stop them as they pushed forward until they were at the gates of the city.

HOURS BEFORE...

Flame was almost halfway around the hospital when he noticed the V formations of flying objects heading toward the city.

"What the...?" He said squinting to see what on earth was heading their way. Soon enough he was given his answer when the first bomber released its payload and rocked the city as the searchlights and air raid sirens came to life shortly after. The blast made him stumble as he saw that it was the Cheetahs behind the attack.

"Oh no! I thought Spyro said he had defeated him!" He said as he saw anti aircraft fire light up the night sky.

"I don't have much time, there's only one way to end all this!" He said opening his wings and taking to the sky in a northerly heading.

"I hope I'm not too late!" He said to himself as the city faded into the horizon, the distant rumbling of battle slowly dying off to give way to the rushing wind.

xXx

"Go for the commanders!" Spyro ordered as he targeted one who was distracted talking to something in his hand. His razor sharp claws gashed the soldier nearly in half as Spyro ended up with the crystal in his paw, a familiar voice coming from it.

"Jentus! Do you copy? Push through the city and burn it to the ground! Spare no one!"

'Caesar.' Spyro mentally growled.

"You will pay for this you scumbag!" He snapped into the crystal.

There was silence for a moment, then the ruling cheetah realized who was on the other end of the crystal.

"This is our repayment of your unprovoked attack purple whelpling! Its nothing your inferior species doesn't deserve!" He too growled.

"This isn't over! I'll make you pay for what you did to my brother!" He said crushing the crystal and continuing the fight.

xXx

Caesar slammed his crystal down as well and turned to his second in command.

"Ready the gas. Nothing will live in that valley for one thousand years!" He demanded.

"Sir...its still experimental, are you sure-"

"Its not your job to question my orders, its your job to tell the field commanders to load the FUCKING poison gas shells in the artillery cannons!" He snapped.

"Aye sir!" His right hand cheetah said with a fearful tone.

The battle drug on in a stalemate, though just barely as the dragons and Hunter were beginning to tire. Things didn't look good for the dragons.

The siege weapons began opening up on the city in an attempt to break down the gates. Spyro had the bad luck of being right in the path of a moderately sized stone, going a couple hundred miles an hour. He braced as the impact sent him rocketing through a still standing building wall as he caught a couple of arrows in his wing membranes.

He opened his eyes slowly as everything seemed to trail as he looked around. He appeared to be in what was left of the hospital wing. A particularly violent explosion rocked the building and caused a box to fall from a shelf above him and onto his stomach, spilling its contents. The box had Flames name on it, and arrows fell out of it.

He felt his wings ache like he'd never felt before. He craned his head and pulled his wing to his face. Three arrows had lodged themselves into his right wing. He gritted his teeth and ripped them out as fast as he could.

Gasping for breath he threw the arrows beside him, along with the ones the hospital had removed from Flame. Then he noticed something odd. The arrows removed from his brother were different from the ones he pulled from his wings! All cheetahs used the same arrowheads, ornate and difficult to extract once embedded into flesh. The ones removed from Flame weren't like those at all. Spyro began to think back to what Caesar had said to him.

_This is our repayment of your unprovoked attack purple whelpling!_

"The arrow isn't cheetah made...Caesar didn't try to kill Flame!" He said to himself, snapping to his wits as he brushed the debris off of him that had been a result of his rather violent entry into the room.

Cynder appeared in the hole he had made in the wall after she had seen him go down.

"Spyro are you ok?!" She said slightly worried by the blood coming from his wings.

"I'm fine. Look at these two arrows! Notice anything?" He said calmly yet urgently.

"Uhh...I don't think this is a good time to-"

"Seriously Cynder!" He snapped.

"OK OK! This ones arrowhead looks more well made than this one does."

"Exactly! These were the arrows they removed from Flame! They aren't Cheetah arrows! We're at war with the wrong people!"

Cynder was dumbfounded.

"Are...are you sure? You should probably show the other guardians-"

"There's no time for that! I have to stop this war before anyone else gets hurt!" He said flying out of the hole he had made with Cynder in hot pursuit.

Ignitus watched from his realm as Spyro flew faster than ever before.

"Hurry my son, there's more at stake than you realize" he whispered.

**Spyro's racing against the clock! Caesar plans to kill everything in the valley! And once more, they're both fighting under false pretenses! Who really attacked Flame? A rogue agent? A secret instigator? Stay tuned to find out! also I wrote this chap while listening to 'till I collapse'. great song to get ya ready for battle lol**


	23. Chapter 23 The Puppet Master

**CHAPTER 23 **

Caesar stepped away from his command room, followed closely by his advisers and bodyguards as he made his was toward the motor pool. A large tank like vehicle with the symbol of his party painted on all four sides. It had one large main gun, and three smaller automatic crossbows on the top and two sides of the armored beast.

"Sir! Where are you going?" His aide asked as he climbed into the top hatch, followed by the elite group of commandos charged with operating it.

"To the evil mountain. The time to harvest the dark crystals for the benefit of the people is here! As soon as I have the crystals, we will rebuild a far more glorious city over the dragons graves." He said disappearing inside the behemoth.

xXx

Spyro was finally within range of Caesar's army as he swooped down and picked up a cheetah commander and lifted him into the air.

He grabbed his communication crystal and dropped him back to the battlefield.

"Spyro what are you doing?!" She said pulling along side him.

"I have to tell Caesar that this whole war is a mistake! This is the only chance we have of stopping all this!" He said as he held the crystal close to his maw as he flew in a zig zag pattern to avoid anti air fire.

"Caesar! Caesar come in!" He snapped as he barrel rolled around a group of incoming arrows.

"Who is this! Identify yourself at once!" The voice from the other side said. It wasn't Caesars, however.

"I need to talk to Caesar! This is the leader of the dragon forces, we need to negotiate a truce, our attack was under false pretenses!"

"You're too late dragon! Caesar has already left to ensure you and your race pay in full for each cheetah killed by your cowardly attack!"

Spyro dropped the crystal in frustration as he had just gotten a powerful headache, like the one he had when he was fighting off the darkness.

"Whats wrong?"

"Nothing...just a headache..." He explained.

"Did you get through to the Cheetahs?"

"They wont listen...This is our fault! I cant believe I just jumped headfirst into a war like this! Ignitus would have never-"

"There's no way you could have known it wasnt Caesar unless you were in the operating room with Flame! Were you?" She said compassionately.

"No..."

"Then let the past be the past, and lets start trying to think of a way to stop this war!"

Spyro nodded and tried to think of a way to track down Caesar. After a brief few moments, he realized someone who might know of his whereabouts.

"We have to find Hunter!" He said to her swooping down low over the battlefield so as to get a look at the individuals faces.

"Are you insane?! Do you know how many cheetahs are out here?"

"There's only one that's firing on other cheetahs! We need to split up to find him!" He said spotting a group of dead soldiers, Hunter standing atop the pile firing arrow after arrow into the advancing troops. Try as they might, he was much too agile for them to hit.

Spyro looked back for Cynder but saw that she had vanished in another direction.

"She'll figure it out." He said to himself as he turned toward his cheetah ally.

"Hunter! Hunter I need to talk to you!"

"I really don't think now is a good time Spyro!" He said firing more and more arrows into his former countrymen.

"Just grab on!" He said hovering over Hunter as he reluctantly grabbed his hind legs as he flew up onto a covered ledge.

"Whats so damn important Spyro?" He asked slightly annoyed that he had to be pulled away from his fight.

"Flame wasnt attacked by Caesar!" He said breathlessly.

Hunter stared at his friend with a mix of concern and confusion. Perhaps the stress of war had finally gotten to his old battle pal?

"Oh...OK. Then who did?" He asked with genuine curiosity.

"I don't know, but the arrows they removed from Flame weren't Cheetah made, they were much more crude...like an ape or something made them."

Hunter nodded.

"I don't know Spyro...There aren't very many apes around anymore, and I don't know if they'd want anything to do with your kind after what you put them through." He said smirking.

"Right...well that's not the point. I need to know where Caesar would go if he wasn't in the city!" He said as the rumble of battle and the ping of arrows off of the the thin metal debris that shielded them from harm were all he heard during the brief pause in the conversation.

"What are you planning Spyro?" He asked, knowing when the wheels turned inside the dragons head.

"I need to negotiate a truce. We attacked them for the wrong reasons."

"Well, whenever he wasn't in his palace, he was-" The warrior cheetah was cut off by a deafening roar, as the light outside was bathed in a dark purple light.

They both poked their heads outside their shelter and watched in mystified fear as a twisting column of purple light wound into the sky, seeming to go on into space forever.

"On Mount Malefor to research dark crystals!" He completed.

"Oh no! I have to stop him!" He said taking off from their protective perch.

"Spyro! Don't just leave me up here!" Hunter shouted after him.

"I'll come back for you when I'm done!" He said speeding off toward the evil mountain, which had now found new life.

xXx

Cynder saw the three other guardians fighting in the air and ground, so she flew within earshot of Terrador.

"Young Cynder! Where have you been?"

"With Spyro! He found out the Cheetahs didn't attack Flame!"

"What? How do you know?" He asked.

"I'll explain later, but right now I need to find Hun-" The mountains evil eruption cut her off as the shock wave from it raced toward them.

"-ter..."

"Whats going on?!" She yelled over the now fading roar.

"Someone has awakened the dark energy left over from Malefor!"

Looks like Hunter would have to take a back seat to evil reincarnations.

"I've got to stop whoevers doing this! I wont let them bring him back!" She said as she began to head in that direction.

"No! Wait Cynder! There's only one way to contain this!" Volteer yelled to her.

She paused and faced him.

"You need an eternal seal! The darkness always needs a host, so if you kill the host, it will just move on to another one. Once you find whoever is causing this, tell Spyro to recite the Epsilon chant. He'll know what it means, we'll hold them off here, now go!"

xXx

Spyro flew silently across the fields and plains as the battlefield grew fainter and fainter behind him. He couldn't help but think of all those lives he and his army had taken in what they thought was retribution for attacking Flame. Whoever was responsible for hurting Flame dressed as a Cheetah for a reason, and he obviously knew how the dragons would react. It seemed as though Spyro had played right into their hands, or paws as the case may be. He couldn't believe what he'd done, and with the blessing of the elders no less! They didn't know...none of them did. But Cynder's words were ringing in his ears as he shelved his compassion and tried to focus on the task at hand. The dark energy was growing at an alarming rate, getting larger as he drew nearer.

He swallowed hard, knowing that what was beyond the rim of that volcano, was the embodiment of darkness, and would take everything he had to stop, if he ever could at all.

"If I die...So be it. I will have paid for the innocent lives I've claimed." He said to himself.

He was really close now. The darkness was almost too much to bear.

Then a voice from behind him caught his attention.

"Spyro!"

It was Cynder, speeding towards him, her thin black outline barely visible across the smoke filled horizon.

Once she was close she shouted "Volteer told me to tell you-"

"Wait, Cynder, theres something I need to ask you."

"Is this from before? Because I really don't think-"

"Just hear me out ok?"

She closed her mouth as she hovered next him, listening.

"I was going to ask you...before all this started...would you...bind with me?" He said, his heart now solely in her hands.

She was shocked at his proposal at first.

"I really don't think this is a good time!" She said trying to buy herself time.

Shortly after, she considered her position. She could give in to her vengeful, dark side and crush him emotionally right then and there. But she couldn't, as a matter of fact, it wasn't even close. She couldn't bring herself to hurt someone with handsome purple eyes like that.

"You dont know how long I've waited to hear you ask me that." She said softly, bathed in the dark purple light as the dark energy was now so strong it couldnt be ignored.

With a flap of his wings he was next to her, pressing his lips against her own for the first time. They were so warm, and soft like a velvet feather. Not what he was expecting at all from a formerly evil dragoness. Soon the kiss was broken and he looked into her eyes.

"Now lets go save the world." He said.

"Again." She smiled back.

They zipped over the rim of the volcano and deep into its heart, avoiding the dancing column of darkness as they slipped down the inside of the mountain.

The two dragons landed at the base of the mountain, an eerie familiarity creeping into their very souls.

"Caesar! Show yourself! You don't know what you're messing with!" Spyro shouted, with only an echo as his response.

A new rumble began to shake one of the walls of the base of the volcano. After a few seconds, a large metal beast broke through the solid rock, five Cheetahs jumping out of the top hatch with arrows drawn. All except for one, the one in the cape.

"Spyro! I should have known you would try to use the crystals in a last ditch effort to save your pathetic city!" He barked, his massive bodyguards standing unflinchingly ready to kill both him and Cynder at a moments notice. But Spyro wasn't afraid of their arrows. In fact, he was quite confused. He was certain he would have found the orchestrator of Flames attack and this war. He was also certain it was Caesar, but since he had just arrived...

"You just arrived here?" He asked, ignoring Caesar's earlier words.

"Yes." He said, not exactly sure where his adversary was going with this.

Spyro turned his back to them and faced the shadows.

"Who's behind all this!? Show yourself!" He snapped into the darkness.

"Hey! I'm about to kill you here!" Caesar growled indignantly.

Out of the shadows stepped the puppet master.

"Hello Spyro." He said calmly.

Cynder and Spyro couldn't believe it.

"Flame! How could you?!"

**It was Flame! The whole time! Who saw that coming, show of hands? Good, I hope it wasnt too obvious. anyway we arent done here! one maybe two chaps left!**


	24. Chapter 24 Bound In Blood

**CHAPTER 24 **

**And now, the thrilling conclusion of Endless Cycle! Will Spyro break the Cycle? Or will the universe ultimately achieve balance once again?  
**

"Smarter than you look." Flame said, now completely out of the shadows, his orange scales shining with an unnatural glow, almost a purple tint.

Spyro and Cynder's jaws were still agape in shock. This had to be a trick, an illusion...it just couldn't be the truth.

"Ive had enough of this. Kill them!" Caesars voice echoed from behind them as he ordered his guards to fire.

They turned their heads just in time to see the arrowheads whistling toward their faces, only to stop in mid air. A purple light traced the projectiles as they hovered mere inches from each dragon. Spyro looked to Flame and saw his forepaw extended also glowing the same color.

"You arent in charge here. I am." The red dragon said flinging the arrows back toward their shooters, ripping through their armor with a sickening crack. With his bodyguards felled, Caesar drew his sword, ready for combat.

Spyro looked to his brother after that display of power with an expression of disbelief, knowing exactly what he did to gain such abilities.

"Flame...you absorbed the dark crystals...do you have any idea how dangerous that is?! You don't know the kind of power they-"

"Shut it Spyro! I know exactly what kind of powers they bestow. Your powers." He growled.

The purple drake merely stood there dumbstruck as Flame continued.

"I did the research Spyro, I know what they do. They make a normal dragon, into you. A dragon capable of controlling any element. And since you decided to steal my birthright out from under me, I'm going to steal yours!"

Cynder finally decided to join the conversation after snapping out of her daze.

"Flame listen to what you're saying! Dark energy does nothing but corrupt! Does everything I confided in you mean nothing?" She pleaded with him as his scales took on a tinge of purple.

"You were too young to realize what you had. I hadn't planned on having this conversation, I expected all of you to be dead at this point. Since you're here, I might as well clue you in on the events of the last week. I faked my attack and blamed the cheetahs, knowing you would attack them without asking questions. Sure it was painful jamming each arrow into a strategically placed spot, but it was a small price to pay for this!" He said opening his maw and releasing the same kind of purple energy Spyro had used to beat Cynder in her adult form. The beam zipped between the two dragons and crashed into the vehicle Caesar had ridden here, making it fly apart in a large fireball.

Caesar looked back at the dragon in awe at the power of the dark crystals, then had a thought, vocalizing it to Spyro.

"The war...it was all because of him?"

Flame rolled his eyes. He was pretty sure that's what he just said.

"Yes dammit." The fire dragon answered.

"Spyro, I need to contact my artillery commander! Their about to poison the city!" He said urgently.

"Cynder, take Caesar to the battlefield to find one of his men."

"But what about you?! I'm not just leaving you here! I told you we fight together this time!"

"Cynder please! Don't make this any harder!" He snapped at her.

He looked at her pleadingly. She couldn't say no to those eyes, so she grudgingly accepted her mission.

"I don't think so!" Flame said firing another blast right at Caesars chest, but was deflected by an identical blast from Spyro.

"I do. Flame this isn't you! This isn't my brother! This is the darkness talking! Its making you think this way, I can get it out of you, you just have to tru-"

"Trust you? I did. I loved you. But you betrayed me. This is all I have left, and I wont let you take it from me!" He said firing and enormous blast at his brother, drilling him square in the heart. He was thrown back against the cave wall and slumped over, blood dripping from his mouth and nose.

"Spyro!" Cynder screamed in terror. She had never seen anyone survive such a punishing blast as smoke rose from her purple loves chest. To her relief he began to cough and stir before looking to her.

"Just take Caesar and go now!" He barked through the pain as she nodded and grabbed Caesar by the arms and flew as fast as possible up the volcano. Flame launched himself in hot pursuit as did Spyro, timing his flight path to intersect Flames, spearing him in the ribs and sending both to the dirt. Flame got to his feet first and rammed Spyro in the ribs with his horns, flipping him across the stone floor and Flame caught his breath.

"You drove me to this...First you take my birthright...then you steal Cynder away even though you treated her like shit. You dont deserve her. You dont deserve to be the Fire guardian."

"Its...what dad...wanted..."

"Liar! I'm the oldest, I'm the fire dragon and I'm the _legitimate_ son! I should be the fire guardian!" He said, allowing his anger to blind himself to the pain he had and was about to inflict on his own flesh and blood. He launched another beam at Spyro who took it in the ribs again and tumbled to the very edge of a cliff, a river of lava flowing a few hundred feet below him.

Spyro coughed up blood and spit it onto the rocks as he slowly rose to his weary feet and looked at his brother.

Flame growled as his scales became even darker and he seemed to swell up in size.

"Fight back!" He demanded as his voice changed, having been infused with the evil of the universe that had stalked Spyro.

The purple dragon sat on his haunches as he bled from his wounds and gasped for air.

"I...should've known...the darkness...would try for you..." He said between breaths.

"Its controlling you...It owns you..." He said, only provoking his half brother further.

"No! I'm in control! I will use it to take back whats mine! Once I'm done with you, I'll be the fire guardian!" He said walking toward Spyro as he still sat on the edge of the cliff.

Flame grabbed Spyro by the neck and lifted him up off the ground.

"You killed my father. I never even got the chance to see his face!" He said slinging his brother across the stone floor as Spyro merely rolled across it.

"Flame...I wont fight you..." He said still getting to his feet, even though his blood loss and bruises demanded he give up.

"Then you will die." He answered, the old Flame now completely gone as his voice now indicated.

xXx

"Where do you need to go?" Cynder shouted as they were finally over the battlefield, where the stalemate was still holding.

"Just drop me over there! My men will try and kill you if they see you." He said as Cynder complied and dropped him a few hundred yards outside a group of his men.

xXx

The Artillery is loaded with the poison shells and the field commander looked toward the city as it was now a shadow of its former self, the fires from the previous barrage still burning brightly as the sun began to rise.

He raised his arm to signal the artillery to fire as soon as the order came down from above.

He waited, for what seemed like hours as his men kept their eyes on him.

Finally, a transmission came over his crystal.

"This is a direct order from Caesar! All troops withdraw immediately! Cease all hostilities and retreat to the Cheetah village or face court marshall!"

He slowly dropped his arm as he heard the radio. Unfortunately one of the artillery gunners on the far side only saw the commander drop his hand, so he fired his shell, a lethal dose of toxin headed straight for Warfang.

Cynder looked to a distant rumble and saw in horror a single shell arcing over the treetops.

"Oh no!" She said unsure if there was any way to keep the shell from poisoning the entire city.

Then Nightwind zipped past her on his way to intercept the shell.

"Are you insane?! That thing is filled with poison!" She called after him.

"After all the guardians and you all have done for me, saving this city is the least I can do!" He said as he was now out of earshot.

She only watched as his figure got smaller and closer to the shell as it grew closer to its predetermined detonation point.

It exploded halfway between Warfang and the wilderness from which it came. From her hover over the city, she could see the body of a dragon freefall toward the earth as the cloud of blue enveloped it and slowly sank to the ground, poisoning the plants and animals unfortunate enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Cynder shed a silent tear for Nightwinds sacrifice. Something else caught her attention however, as she noticed the mass of Cheetah forces began retreating from whence they came. She looked down and saw Caesar smiling up at her saluting. She shot one back as she remembered something she had forgotten to tell Spyro.

"Oh no, the Epsilon chant! I forgot to tell Spyro!" She said realizing her mistake, flying as fast as she could toward the still glowing Mount Malefor even as the dragons cheered for their victory.

'Please hang on Spyro!' She thought as she had hoped he hadn't killed Flame yet. Little did she know, the opposite was almost true.

Spyro had taken quite a beating. A few of his ribs were broken and his scratch marks ravaged his body as Flame didn't have a scratch on him, as Spyro made good on his promise not to fight his own brother, even though the case could be made that he was no longer fighting his brother, but the evil that had once possessed Malefor.

"We told you we would kill you Spyro." Flame said, though it was only Flame on the outside.

He looked to the creature that his half brother had now become and growled, finally he felt that any damage to this atrocity would not be against Flame.

"No. You wont." He said getting to his feet miraculously.

He fired a mass of purple energy at him, something he didn't expect at all from Spyro in his weakened state. It knocked him to the ground and burned his chest. The evil was infuriated.

"You aren't my brother...you're a monster!" He growled as Flame sprang back to his feet, firing electricity at Spyro, wrapping him in lightning bolts as he screamed in agony, falling to his knees and clawing at the ground in an effort to assuage the immense pain.

He slowly raised his head and locked eyes with Flame, and asked with his expression 'how could you hurt me like this?'

Flame only intensified the power as his brothers cries grew louder. The darkness owned him, just as it had Malefor.

Spyro knew there was only one way out now. He would miss Cynder most of all, but hoped she would understand. All he could do was close his eyes and accept his own demise.

Then the electricity stopped, releasing him from its grip as he collapsed in a smoking heap onto the floor.

What made him stop? Had his suffering finally brought his brother back to the surface? He looked up. No, it was Cynder. She had hit him with a 'shatter blast' sound attack, stunning him momentarily.

When she looked to Spyro she was at a loss for words. He looked dead, but his motion and coughing alleviated her worst fear.

"Spyro! By...the ancestors..." She said flying next to him and cradling his head in her arms as her tears fell onto his charred scales.

"What has he done to you?" She whispered.

"I'm ok...You need to go...hide...I'm not strong enough to beat him..." He coughed.

"You arent supposed to. You have to use the Epsilon chant to seal him behind an eternity seal." She said as she helped him to his feet.

He looked to Flame who was just now recovering from Cynder's surprise attack.

"I'll distract him, you hit him with the seal ok?"

"Ok...you better know what you're doing." He said softly.

She darted toward Flame and gored him with her horns, throwing him into the wall just as Spyro had been so many times before.

"You arent my brother, I have no problem kicking your ass." She hissed as he got up.

"You know I was going to spare you, but killing you would be a lot more ironic, especially if I use dark energy!" He said firing another purple beam at her, though she easily dodged it.

"You'll have to do better than that!" She snapped hitting him with another powerful shatter blast.

Spyro concentrated as he said the ancient chant to himself as he began to glow a light blue. He only needed a few more seconds to prepare the seal...

Cynder glanced in her purple companions direction and saw his blue aura as he opened his eyes, ready to do what needed to be done.

Spyro charged one last fireball, and launched it a Flames back. Since he had completely forgot about him, it hit its mark, sending him into the wall once more. With this, he fired a blue swirling beam of energy which surrounded his limbs, pinning him to the wall.

Spyro began limping toward his brother as Cynder grabbed him and aids him in walking. Flame was hopping mad at this point, biting and snapping toward them as they approached him, though he was no threat to them now.

Spyro looked at her, and she returned his gaze. His face was dirty, cut and covered in his own blood, but he was somehow still breathing, let alone standing.

"Cynder...I have to do this alone." He said wearily as she nodded understandingly, letting him go and taking a few steps back. Spyro knew what the seal he held meant, and what it did. He looked at Flame, and tears filled his eyes. For one final time, he looked his last living relative in the eye, taking a step towards him as he is now only a foot away.

"Flame...you broke my heart..." He said as he released the seal allowing it to begin freezing his body in place. The final step of the seal was to bind it in blood, so that only those of that same bloodline may reawaken those trapped within. Spyro took his tail and drug it across his forepaw, allowing a fresh line of crimson blood to flow from his already battle weary body. He looked at the cut and then back at the monster the darkness had made his brother become. It had corrupted him since he lost the fire guardianship. It tempted him with unlimited power, but unlike Spyro, Flame did not resist. Spyro smeared his blood against the blue crystal now slowly working its way up Flames body. In a flash, his brother was sealed for eternity behind the blue crystal, deep in the heart of the evil mountain. After it was all over, he dropped to his knees and cried like he never had before. He had locked his brother for eternity in a crystalline prison. He had let him become corrupted by the evil he knew was out there trying to find a host body, which he didn't even warn him about. The guilt consumed him as Cynder came by his side.

"I...I let him become this...I shouldnt have taken the fire guardianship...I didnt even warn him about the darkness...I knew it was hunting and I said nothing!" He said slamming his fist into the stone floor as he looked at his brother, now frozen with a growl on his face. This only brought him more pain.

"Spyro, there was no way you could have known. He didn't show any signs of-"

"Damnit he was my brother! I should have known something was wrong!" He snapped his sadness now turning to anger at himself.

"Spyro listen to me! He chose to accept the darkness! There was nothing you could have done! You cant blame yourself for what Flame did! As much as this will hurt to hear, it was Flames fault what happened to him!" She said forcing him to look her in the eye.

He just stared, out of things to say, but still very upset. He dropped his head into her chest as she cradled him in her arms at the bottom of a volcano. Being alone was nothing new to her, she had never known her family, but for someone who had family, she couldn't imagine the loss. After a while, Spyro passed out, and Cynder picked up her lover and gently flew out of the volcano, an eerie silence dominating everywhere. The war was over, the dragon race saved, and the Cheetahs at peace.

"I've dealt with what Flame chose to do, though I still cant believe it. I still lay awake at night thinking about how someone I thought I knew, someone who shared my blood, could accept the darkness like he did. Maybe if he had seen what I had, he would have never even thought about absorbing those dark crystals. But Cyril said he had problems controlling his emotions. My wounds healed up for the most part, though I have a lot of scars now, and only half of my right horn, but I don't care. Appearance has never been a concern for me. I never knew how much being Fire Guardian meant to him. If I had, I would have never taken it. But that's in the past. I miss him every day, but Cynder and the other guardians help with those feelings. I try to remember the Flame I met after I woke up in Warfang, not the evil beast the darkness made him into. Cynder and I had a son soon after we were bound. We named him Flame. I'll never forget him as long as I live, I don't think anyone will. The Cheetahs are now our allies, after explaining everything was just a trick by Flame and the evil that corrupted him. Though Caesar is still in power, he has restored many freedoms to his people, and eliminated the dreaded thought police that terrorized his people. Things are much better now, and I hope Flames spirit isn't trapped in that evil body I sealed in the mountain. I don't know when the next evil heart will arise...but when it does, I'll be ready to destroy it. That much I promise to every peace loving soul in Warfang."

Ignitus shed a tear as he watched Spyro's newly hatched son play with Cynder and Spyro. The pride only a grandfather could feel swelling up inside his chest. He opened the book of the dead and wrote a single name in the book.

_Flame, Son of Ignitus._

A few tears fell onto the page as he closed the book. A small red dragon walked next to him, looking up at him with eyes filled with remorse.

"I'm...I'm sorry I was weak dad..." He said softly.

"I know Flame...you didn't know what the darkness could do...it wasn't entirely your fault."

"But I tried to kill thousands of people! I don't deserve any kind of sympathy..." He said breaking down in tears.

"No my son. No matter what you do, you will always be my first born little boy, and I'll never stop caring about you." Ignitus reassured the spirit of his fallen son.

"Now you must travel to the spirit realm. One day Spyro and I will join you. Goodbye Flame, I love you." He said smiling at him.

"I love you too dad..."He said and slowly faded away.

Ignitus let out a heavy sigh and turned back to the vision pool, seeing Spyro laying awake in bed beside Cynder. He knew what he was thinking about. The same thing that always kept him up.

He grabbed a blue powder from off of a shelf and poured it into the pool.

"Goodnight my son...sleep well." He said as Spyro drifted off, finally sleeping now that a time of true peace had been achieved.

**THE END.**

Thanks for everyone who stuck with me through the unpredictable update times! everyone who reviewed, you have my eternal gratitude! also I was asked to give a shout to Cornys story Divinity. a good fic, check it out if u get a chance. anyway, thanks a billion to everyone who even viewed my fics! I have no more lined up, so for now, I'm just going to be reading and helping others on the site where I can. Its been fun, I hope u guys enjoyed it, now tell me what you thought!


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